Lawmakers were set to vote Friday on giant twin bills at the center of Joe Biden’s $3 trillion blueprint to fix America’s crumbling transport network, expand its social safety net and tackle the climate crisis, on the biggest day so far of his presidency.
Success on both fronts would be a huge boon to Biden, 10 months after he swept to the White House promising the pandemic-devastated nation he would “build back better” — before seeing his popularity plunge.
The House of Representatives was expected to pass the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package for Biden to sign into law after taking a vote to advance an even bigger social welfare bill, worth up to $1.85 trillion, to the Senate.
“I’m asking every House member… to vote yes on both these bills right now. Send the infrastructure bill to my desk, send the Build Back Better bill to the Senate,” Biden said in a televised address from the White House.
“Let’s build on incredible economic progress, build on what we’ve already done, because this will be such a boost when it occurs. Let’s show the world that America’s democracy can deliver and propel our country forward.”
Biden’s low approval ratings were blamed in part for a humiliating upset defeat this week in Virginia’s gubernatorial election.
The infrastructure deal’s final approval would mark an unambiguous, resounding and immediate victory for the 78-year old former senator, who touts his ability to reach across the aisle.
By funding work on roads, bridges and ports and high-speed internet, the White House says it would create millions of high-paying jobs for people without college degrees.
– Headwinds –
“America is at a crossroads and it is essential that we take action to enact both of these bills and set our country on a path to continued, equitable recovery,” House Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement.
But the social spending bill — named Build Back Better — was still facing headwinds mid-morning, with up to five lawmakers seeking a full accounting of its economic impacts that won’t be available for days.
It also does not have the Senate’s blessing and is likely to be downsized significantly and put through further arduous votes by moderates in the upper chamber who continue to stiff-arm a deal.
“It will not be enacted as is. Everybody needs to sit with that and get comfortable with it,” Montana’s Democratic senator Jon Tester told Politico.
The votes cap months of tense negotiations on Capitol Hill since the Senate approved the infrastructure package in August, giving it rare bipartisan support in Washington’s highly-polarized political atmosphere.
The package has since been held up by wrangling over the size and scope of Build Back Better, which progressives wanted to pass at the same time.
The infrastructure plan, which spans transport, broadband expansion, clean water measures, electric charging stations and other measures to fight climate change, calls for $550 billion in new federal spending.
Its top line of $1.2 trillion — the equivalent of Spain’s 2020 gross domestic product — relies on other public funds that have already been approved.
– Major investments –
Needing just a simple majority, the infrastructure package passed the Senate by 69 votes to 30 with backing from a third of Republican Senators.
But most House Republicans are expected to withhold their support after former president Donald Trump threatened reprisals for helping to hand Biden a political win.
The bill is a key element of Biden’s sweeping domestic agenda aimed at structuring a greener, more equitable economy.
Democrats in both chambers are still haggling over the Build Back Better package that includes major investments in health, education, tackling climate change and expanding social welfare programs.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent Thursday painstakingly bringing aboard holdouts over multiple sticking points, from prescription drug pricing to immigration provisions.
If there is no Republican support, House Democrats can only afford to lose three votes for the bill to pass on Friday.
Pelosi prides herself on never bringing a vote to the floor for which she has not already garnered sufficient backing, however — suggesting she was able to twist some arms.
But one major hurdle remained on Friday morning, with several moderate holdouts insisting on a full economic impact assessment of the sprawling 2,135-page bill from the non-partisan congressional budget office.
This would likely take 10 to 14 days, however.
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