President Joe Biden will unveil a social spending framework on Thursday that he expects will garner enough Democratic support to pass through both chambers of Congress, according to a report in The Washington Post.
Details of the underlying legislation are still being worked out, but CNN reports it will include $1.75 trillion in new spending. An agreement on that top line number is expected to trigger the House to pass a separate package, which funds $1.2 trillion in infrastructure projects. Progressive in the House insisted that the two bills be linked; the infrastructure spending was already approved by the Senate in August.
Biden will appear on Capitol Hill Thursday morning to discuss the specifics with members of his party. According to CNN, “not all Democrats have signed off on the framework that Biden will announce Thursday morning, two people familiar with the plan cautioned, but the President believes it’s a consensus all Democrats should be able to support.”
“The President will speak to the House Democratic Caucus this morning to provide an update about the Build Back Better agenda and the bipartisan infrastructure deal. Before departing for his foreign trip, he will return to the White House and speak to the American people about the path forward for his economic agenda and the next steps to getting it done,” a White House official told CNN.
The announcement will be the latest development in a months-long negotiation within the Democratic party. Progressives proposed a $3.5 trillion social spending package, but had to whittle down their priorities to attract the support of the party’s two moderate holdouts – Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Initiatives to fund paid family leave and paid medical leave were reportedly jettisoned from the framework earlier this week.
CBS News reports on what remains in the framework:
The plan as written would cut more than a gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 — a roughly 50% reduction compared to 2005 levels, aides said. The legislation would provide tax credits to Americans buying new electric vehicles that could, according to administration officials, provide up to $12,500 in incentives to some families to drop gas-guzzling vehicles. New tax incentives designed to encourage the installation of solar panels on American homes will also be offered.
Elements of the legislation regarding health care would expand coverage to 7 million more uninsured Americans, aides said, and lower premiums by an average of $600 per person for more than 9 million Americans who purchase insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace.
Mr. Biden’s revised framework would also expand Medicare coverage to include hearing services, though some Democrats pushed for the plan to expand the health care program for seniors to cover dental and vision.
It also extends through 2022 the expanded child tax credit, which the White House says will provide more than 35 million households up to $3,600 in tax cuts per child. The expanded child tax credit was included in Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan enacted this year.
In a Wednesday letter to her caucus, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “we are still fighting for a paid family and medical leave provision.”
Biden is expected to address the nation at approximately 11:30 AM on Thursday. Hours later, he’ll depart for an oversees trip that includes a meeting with the pope and a global climate change conference.
NBC News adds:
The White House wanted at least a deal on the measure’s framework before Biden leaves for Europe because he doesn’t want to appear empty-handed at the G20 summit in Rome and the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
