Democratic congressional leaders said Sunday they were open to reducing the cost of a proposed $3.5-trillion social spending bill as negotiations have stalled over the measure to expand the country’s social safety net.
Speaking on Sunday morning talk shows, Democratic leaders said they want to hold onto key principles of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act, such as providing paid leave, expanding Medicare and childcare, lowering healthcare costs and addressing climate change. But they said they are willing to negotiate elements of the bill as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have objected to the price tag.
The measure is going through the reconciliation process, which makes it easier to pass legislation in the Senate because a simple majority is sufficient rather than needing 60 votes and the budget cannot be stalled by filibuster. The multi-step process involves a committee of congressional leaders resolving differences between omnibus budget bills passed by the Senate and House, with both chambers voting on the bill again.
Officials declined to say what price they would go down to or what programs they would cut to get the entire caucus onboard, citing they don’t want to give up their negotiating power.
“What we have said from the beginning is, it’s never been about the price tag. It’s about what we want to deliver,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Manchin has demanded a smaller package of around $1.5 trillion, which Jayapal said is too low. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who initially proposed a $6-trillion reconciliation package, said $2 trillion, a figure reportedly floated by Biden, would also be too low.
“We have the American people very, very strongly on our side,” Sanders told ABC’s “This Week.” “We got all but two senators at this point in the Democratic caucus on our side. We’re going to win this thing.”
Democrats acknowledged the challenges of crafting a compromise.
“Everybody is frustrated. That’s part of being in government,” Biden told reporters Saturday, pledging to raise Americans’ awareness about what’s in the spending bill.
“I believe that when the American people are aware of what’s in it we’ll get it done.”
Biden senior advisor Cedric Richmond told NBC’s “Meet The Press,” “People will be disappointed. People will not get everything they want. That is the art of legislating.”
Richmond noted the measure would be paid for by raising taxes on wealthy corporations and on families making over $400,000 a year.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx/Queens) told CBS’ “Face The Nation” that progressives are considering funding the same programs for a shorter period of time, instead of the proposed 10 years, to cut the price of the bill.
Manchin said he would support a bill only if it included the Hyde amendment, which bans using federal funding for abortions. Jayapal, who testified last week about having an abortion after suffering from postpartum depression following the birth of her first child, said she could not support a bill with that measure.
Democratic Majority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told CNN he would not rule out voting on a measure with the Hyde amendment, because “I don’t want to let the entire package break down over that issue.”
Sinema has criticized Democratic leaders for holding up the passage of the $550-billion infrastructure bill, saying the delay holds up important investments in water, transportation, electricity and broadband for millions of Americans.
Jayapal told CNN the measures must pass together “because we don’t want to pit roads and bridges against child care.”
The new target date for the bills’ passage is Oct. 31.
Congress must also lift the debt ceiling by Oct. 18 to avoid defaulting on the country’s debt. Durbin pledged Democrats will figure out how to do it, even without Republican support as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Republicans will refuse to raise the debt limit.
