WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden heads to Capitol Hill early today to push his pared-back domestic policy bill and a related bipartisan infrastructure plan with fractious House Democrats after days of prolonged negotiations over his ambitious social and climate policies and how to pay for them.
Biden will then make remarks from the White House, a possible signal that agreement might be within reach after a paid family leave proposal fell out and a billionaires’ tax appeared scrapped to win over pivotal senators in the 50-50 Senate.
The president has wanted to announce at least the framework of a deal before departing later today on global summits.
Democrats’ disputes over the big domestic policy bill has held up passage of a separate $1 trillion package of road, broadband and other infrastructure projects that cleared the Senate with bipartisan support. Progressive House Democrats want to see the fine print of the big domestic bill before voting on the infrastructure measure.
The $3.5 trillion domestic measure has shrunk to about $1.75 trillion as negotiations progressed. Still in the mix: expanded health care programs, free pre-kindergarten and some $500 billion to tackle climate change.
And Democrats are eyeing a new surcharge on the wealthy — 5% on incomes above $10 million and an additional 3% on those beyond $25 million — to help pay for it, according to a person who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private talks.
The billionaires’ tax proposal had been designed to win over another Democratic holdout, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, but Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia panned it as unfairly targeting the wealthy, leaving Democrats at odds.
“People in the stratosphere, rather than trying to penalize, we ought to be pleased that this country is able to produce the wealth,” Manchin told reporters.
Manchin said he prefers a minimum 15% flat “patriotic tax” to ensure the wealthiest Americans don’t skip out on paying any taxes. Nevertheless, he said: “We need to move forward.”
Next to fall was a proposed paid family leave program that was already being chiseled back from 12 to four weeks to satisfy Manchin. But with his objections, it was unlikely to be included in the bill, the person said.
In the evenly divided Senate, Biden needs all Democrats’ support with no votes to spare.
White House officials met at the Capitol with Manchin and Sinema, two senators who now hold enormous power, essentially deciding whether or not Biden will be able to deliver on the Democrats’ major campaign promises.
A Sunday deadline loomed for approving a smaller, bipartisan roads-and-bridges infrastructure bill or risk allowing funds for routine transportation programs to expire.
Despite a series of deadlines, Democrats have been unable to close the deal among themselves, and Republicans overwhelmingly oppose the package. At best, Democrats could potentially reach a framework that could send Biden overseas with a deal in hand and unlock the process while the final details were sewn up.
Applying pressure, Pelosi announced a Thursday committee hearing to spur the Biden package along toward a full House vote, though timing remained uncertain.
