Washington, Spit. 28 (U.S.): Republican senators blocked a bill to keep the government running and allow federal borrowing, but Democrats aiming to avoid a shutdown vowed to try again — while pushing ahead with President Joe Biden’s big plans to reshape the government.
The efforts aren’t necessarily linked, but last Thursday’s fiscal year deadline for government funding collides with Democrats’ desire to make progress on Biden’s expansionary $3.5 trillion federal reform.
All of this makes for a tumultuous moment for Biden and his party, with consequences certain for shaping his presidency and the political future of lawmakers, the Associated Press reports.
Success could mean a historic achievement, if Democrats can pass Biden’s big bill. Failure — or a government shutdown and a highly unlikely debt crisis — could derail jobs.
“You know me, I’m a born optimist,” Biden told reporters Monday, as he upped his sleeve for a COVID-19 booster dose. “We’ll get it done.”
Monday’s vote by 50-48 against accepting the bill was well short of the 60 votes needed to advance the Republican obstruction. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer turned his vote into “no,” a procedural move to allow him to reconsider the measure, which he said would happen this week.
As the days rolled on, Democrats said they would try again before Thursday’s deadline to pass a bill that funds government operations after the end of the fiscal year on September 30, eliminating the debt limit debate for another day, closer to a separate deadline in October.
Meanwhile, the real action unfolds behind the scenes over the $3.5 trillion measure, as Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress seek to rewrite state balance sheets once in a generation.
From free pre-kindergarten and childcare subsidies for families with young children to dental care and hearing aids for seniors with Medicare, there’s a lot in the president’s proposal — all to be paid with higher corporate and wealthy taxes.
With Republicans staunchly opposed, Democrats are quick to shrink the total and win strongholds within their party.
“We just have to make tough choices,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told House Democrats during an evening caucus, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the special session.
With the overall price down, Pelosi said the president is “working on the piece,” referring to ongoing talks with the Senate. Despite the rush to drum up votes, Pelosi said House Democrats will not move forward with a bill until it is accepted by their Senate colleagues. “We haven’t gotten there yet,” she said.
“Let’s show the number,” Representative Richard Neil, chair of the Way and Means Committee, said as he emerged from the caucus, he was expecting a new lump sum as momentum builds toward Thursday.
Building on a separate bipartisan $1 trillion public works package already approved by the Senate and heading to a vote in the House, also Thursday, Biden is seeking major spending on health care, education and efforts to tackle climate change. He asserts that the total price is in fact “zero” – covered by the expected increase in tax revenue.
He is personally calling on his fellow Democrats in Congress to try to resolve differences and bring forward his comprehensive vision of domestic policy.
“If we do that, the country will be in good shape,” Biden said, kicking off the list of important goals along with other deadlines.
In a statement to the call, the White House said Biden, Pelosi and Schumer discussed the way forward in the afternoon and would continue their “close coordination over the coming days.”
But Republicans say it’s real unsustainable spending, a reflection of Democrats’ campaign to bring government into people’s lives.
So far, the bill is also too big for major Democrats to need their votes in the face of GOP opposition. Two holdout Democrats, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kirsten Sinema of Arizona, said they would not support a bill of this magnitude. Manchin previously suggested spending $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion.
Progressive lawmakers said they’ve already made enough concessions with more centrist Democrats, but in one possible development, Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, confirmed that she and Cinema are in talks.
With all Republicans opposed, Democratic leaders cannot provide a single vote in the Senate 50-50, relying on Vice President Kamala Harris to break the tie to pass the final package.
All of this comes as other deadlines remain this week to pay for government operations and allow more borrowing or risk a devastating federal shutdown or debt default – although those dire scenarios seem unlikely.
The bill rejected by Senate Republicans on Monday night would have temporarily funded government operations, through early December, while also providing emergency funds for Cyclone Ida and other disaster relief operations and for Afghan refugees.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell rejected this approach because Democrats also included a provision to suspend the debt limit, which would allow continued borrowing to pay state bills.
Once a matter of routine, raising the debt limit is now a preferred political weapon Republicans use to attack Democrats — even though both parties have been responsible for the debt buildup.
“Democrats will do the responsible thing — the right thing, the thing that has been done for decades by both parties — and vote yes,” Schumer said before the vote.
He described the Republican opposition as “disjointed”.
McConnell said he wants to fund the government and prevent ruinous debt defaults, but he wants to force Democrats to split the package in two and decide on the politically uncomfortable debt ceiling themselves.
“Republicans do not support shutdowns or breaching debt limits,” he said.
The House of Representatives began debating the public works bill late Monday, and while it has won bipartisan support in the Senate, House Republican leaders are wary of supporting it. Donald Trump, the former president who tried and failed to secure an infrastructure deal while in the White House, is mobilizing opposition against it.
While Pelosi met privately on Monday with House Democrats, it was clear that she was on track to move as quickly as possible on Biden’s broader package.
Biden’s proposal is being paid for by increasing the corporate tax rate, from 21% to 26.5% on companies earning more than $5 million annually, and raising the highest rate on individuals from 37% to 39.6% for those earning more than $400,000. A year or $450,000 for couples.
While Democrats largely agree on Biden’s vision — many of whom have campaigned on the party’s long-standing priorities — stubborn differences remain, including on how to push for cleaner energy or to cut prescription drug costs.
RAE