House Democrats on Friday were poised to vote on the key pillars of Joe Biden’s domestic policy agenda, worth nearly $3tn, as the White House hoped its last-minute lobbying and cajoling efforts on Capitol Hill bear fruit after weeks of false starts and delays.
The sweeping social and environmental package, as well as a smaller bipartisan public works measure, were expected to come before the House.
But tensions were running high and there was no guarantee of the crucial step forward after a months-long battle over the party’s plans to improve the nation’s infrastructure while combating the climate crisis, reforming healthcare, education and immigration, and overhauling the tax code.
With razor-thin Democratic majorities, the negotiations have seen many of the initial proposals contained in the Democrats’ 10-year, $1.85tn social and environment bill pared back or dropped entirely.
Arguments and delays followed objections from centrist lawmakers in the House and Senate who hold effective veto power over the legislation.
Touting a strong monthly jobs report on Friday, Biden implored House Democrats to “vote yes on both these bills right now,” arguing that both pieces of legislation were critical to the nation’s economic recovery.
“Passing these bills will say clearly to the American people, ‘we hear your voices, we’re going to invest in your hopes,” he said. After his remarks, Biden said he was returning to the Oval Office to “make some calls” to lawmakers.
The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, worked furiously on Thursday to pave the way for a vote before lawmakers leave Washington for a week-long recess, whipping members on the House floor and keeping them late into the night in an effort to shore up support for the legislation, which runs to more than 2,000 pages.
Democratic leaders are plowing ahead with the legislation after the party suffered a series of stinging electoral defeats, including losing the governorship of Virginia and being run to the wire in New Jersey this week.
Major legislative victories, though later than expected, will, they hope, help reset the momentum and improve their electoral prospects ahead of next year’s House and Senate midterm elections.
Pelosi on Friday met privately with centrist lawmakers who want to see an independent cost analysis from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office before voting on the $1.85tn spending package – a request that could take several days or even weeks to accommodate.
Progressives have conditioned their support for the infrastructure bill, a priority for moderates, on the passage of the larger spending measure as a way of ensuring both pass.
With unified Republican opposition, House Democrats can lose no more than three votes.
If passed, the spending bill will go to the evenly split 50-50 Senate, where it will face new challenges. The centrist Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who have already thwarted many of the plan’s proposals, are expected to have further objections.
But House passage of the $1.2tn infrastructure bill to upgrade the nation’s roads, bridges, waterways and broadband, which has already passed the Senate with the support of 19 Republicans, would send the measure directly to the president’s desk, giving Biden a much-desired legislative victory.
The $1.85tn package would provide large numbers of Americans with assistance to pay for healthcare, raising children and caring for elderly people at home.
There would be lower prescription drug costs, a new hearing aid benefit for older Americans, and the package would provide some $555bn in tax breaks encouraging cleaner energy and electric vehicles, the nation’s largest commitment to tackling climate change.
In recent days House Democrats added other key provisions, including a new paid family leave program and work permits for immigrants.
Much of the package’s cost would be covered with higher taxes on wealthier Americans (those earning more than $400,000 a year), and a 5% surtax would be added on those making over $10m annually. Large corporations would face a new 15% minimum tax.
The Associated Press contributed reporting