Thirteen Republicans supported it, while six Democrats voted against it. Biden could sign the bill within days. Washington has tried and failed for years to pass a major bill to upgrade critical transportation and utility infrastructure, which has come under more pressure from extreme weather. The White House has also contended passage of the bill can help to get goods moving as supply-chain obstacles contribute to higher prices for American consumers.
The vote Friday followed a day of wrangling over how to enact the two planks of the party's agenda. The push-and-pull exemplified party leaders' months long struggle to get progressives and centrists — who have differing visions of the government's role in the economy — behind the same bills. A demand from a handful of centrists to see a Congressional Budget Office estimate of the social spending plan's budgetary effects delayed its approval.
Progressives sought assurances the holdouts would support the bigger proposal if they voted for the infrastructure bill. After hours of talks — and a Biden call into a progressive caucus meeting urging lawmakers to back the infrastructure bill — the party's liberal wing got assurances from centrists that they would support the larger package. The social and climate plan then cleared a key procedural hurdle early Saturday morning.
With the new decision from the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, Democrats can now do a third budget reconciliation bill, which means they can push through more ambitious measures as long as they are related to taxing and spending. Given her decision, Democrats can now edit the budget resolution they already passed, and include instructions for another bill.
Democrats now have another opportunity to advance parts of their agenda that Republicans would otherwise block. If Democrats eliminated the legislative filibuster, all bills could then pass with 51 votes, instead of 60, removing the need to rely so heavily on budget reconciliation. Since moderate Sens. Joe Manchin D-WV and Kyrsten Sinema D-AZ have been staunch in their opposition to ending the rule, it seems unlikely to change in the near term, meaning most bills will need 60 votes to pass.
The administration is pitching to Democrats and Republicans in Congress alike, but the prospects of getting a bipartisan bill done appear dim. Biden is expected to soon announce yet another package that deals with child care and health care. Relevant House and Senate committees are currently working on a surface transportation reauthorization bill, which comes up every five years.
The five-year reauthorization bills deal pretty narrowly with fixing up roads and bridges, and Republicans on the committees think the reauthorization bill should be worked on and passed in a bipartisan way. But many Democrats are opposed to lifting the cap, which would largely benefit higher-income households. New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and Vermont Sen.
Bernie Sanders have proposed an income threshold limiting those who can deduct a higher amount. Here's how Democrats will pay for it. Initial plans to make companies and well-off Americans pay by raising the corporate tax rate and the top marginal individual income and capital gains rates were scuttled by Democratic moderate Sen.
Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. The party then floated a billionaire tax on the capital gains of the super-wealthy , but that quickly withered after resistance from Manchin, another key Democratic moderate, and several others in the Senate and House. Biden and congressional Democratic leaders ultimately settled on a mix of corporate and individual revenue raising measures, along with two prescription drug provisions.
The bill would also close the loopholes to allow some affluent taxpayers to avoid paying the 3. And it would continue the limitation on excess business losses. But the Congressional Budget Office has said that a similar proposal would raise half that amount over 10 years. Medicare drug negotiation: The bill would empower Medicare to negotiate prices of certain costly medications administered in doctors' offices or purchased at the pharmacy. The Health and Human Services Secretary would negotiate up to 10 drugs in The number would rise to up to 20 medications starting in This controversial provision, which was dropped from the package and then restored after a deal was reached in the Senate , is a far more limited proposal than the one House Democratic leaders have backed in the past.
The legislation would also impose penalties if drug companies increase their prices faster than inflation. Continue reading your article with a WSJ membership. Resume Subscription We are delighted that you'd like to resume your subscription. Please click confirm to resume now. Sponsored Offers.
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