Biden tells Democrats that package of up to $1.9 trillion should be new
target of talks
The president met with key party members as they race to secure a pact.
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8 min
President Biden departs to board Marine One on the South Lawn at the White
House on Oct. 15. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
By Tony Romm, Marianna Sotomayor, Seung Min Kim and Jeff Stein
Today at 8:11 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 9:12 p.m. EDT
President Biden told Democrats during a private meeting Tuesday that he
believed they could secure a deal on a new tax-and-spending proposal between
$1.75 trillion and $1.9 trillion, far less than some in the party initially
sought, even as some lawmakers later maintained it still would allow them to
accomplish broad swaths of their vast economic agenda.
The early outline - shared at least with liberal lawmakers in the House -
appeared to offer one potential avenue for the White House to broker a truce
among Democrats' warring left-leaning and moderate factions. Four people
familiar with Biden's comments confirmed the early details, requesting
anonymity to describe the negotiations.
The potential new price range marks a significant reduction from the $3.5
trillion that some Democrats initially pursued under a budget agreement
chiefly brokered by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) earlier this year. But it is
closer to the number that centrists, especially Sen. Joe Manchin III
(D-W.Va.), had outlined in recent months as they sought steep cuts to
Democrats' spending plans. Manchin and Sanders met Tuesday for the second
time in two days after the two sparred with each other over the weekend.
Biden faces shrinking timetable to salvage his agenda.
By the White House's calculations, a package up to $1.9 trillion would allow
them to accomplish some of their most significant priorities. That includes
at least some expansion of Medicare to offer new benefits to seniors, the
introduction of universal prekindergarten, and billions of dollars to
address climate change, the sources said, cautioning that many of the
details must still be worked out.
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But slimming down the package also is sure to force Democrats to make some
sacrifices. The path put forward by the White House could extend new,
expanded child tax credit payments recently adopted by Congress, but perhaps
only for one additional year, three of the sources said. It would offer new
money to make housing more affordable, yet far less than Democrats once
envisioned. And it would provide paid leave, except only four weeks of
benefits, rather than the 12 weeks some had once proposed, according to one
of the people in the room.
Some congressional sources cautioned that many of the ideas aired by the
White House remain in flux, reflecting considerable work still on the
horizon to craft a deal and sell such a scaled-back package to an
increasingly fractious Democratic caucus. Biden also did not broach the
issue of how to finance the new spending, leaving unresolved the fight over
his proposal to raise taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations. He
previously has pledged it would be paid for in full.
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The White House Tuesday evening did not immediately respond to a request for
comment. Earlier in the day, however, White House press secretary Jen Psaki
described the meeting with liberals - and a second, separate session with
moderate Democrats - as "constructive" toward potentially reaching a deal
after months of delays.
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"There was broad agreement that there is urgency in moving forward over the
next several days and that the window for finalizing a package is closing,"
she said in a statement.
Liberal-leaning Democrats, meanwhile, offered some early praise for what
they heard Tuesday. They acknowledged some of the cuts while stressing that
many of their policy priorities in health care, education and social
spending appear to remain intact.
"All our priorities are there in some way, shape or form," said Rep. Pramila
Jayapal (D-Wash.), the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
The early outlines of a deal came on a day when Democrats pledged to muscle
past the political sniping and policy feuds that have ensnared Biden's
economic agenda for months.
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"There was universal, universal agreement in that room, that we have to come
to an agreement, and we got to get it done and want to get it done this
week," Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said earlier in
the day, a lengthy party lunch he later described as "spirited."
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"The pace has picked up," Schumer said. "The desire to get it done is
strong."
The proposal's price tag had remained a major point of contention. Sanders
and Jayapal had sought as much as $3.5 trillion over 10 years as they worked
to expand Medicare benefits, invest new sums to combat global warming, and
extend paid leave and tax credits to workers and families. But two key
centrists, Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), objected to the
overall cost and vast policy scope favored by their liberal counterparts.
The standoff at times has proven acrimonious, pitting lawmakers like Sanders
and Manchin against each other in a public war of words. Manchin
specifically has pushed for a package closer to $1.5 trillion, forcing
left-leaning members to make what they regard as unacceptable concessions.
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Seeking to bridge the gap, Biden began Tuesday by meeting with Jayapal and
other lawmakers. Exiting the discussion at the White House, Jayapal said she
felt "very good" that the "majority" of the programs backed by the
left-leaning bloc would be in the final deal.
"The president is the inspirer, he is the closer, he is the convincer, the
he is the mediator-in-chief. He really is doing a phenomenal job," she said.
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One White House official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to
describe the private meeting, stressed that the narrower legislation would
still include major investments across a range of additional policy areas -
including less-discussed initiatives for maternal health and Historically
Black Communities and Universities.
Biden and top Democrats also are still pursuing significant spending to
address climate change, though Jayapal and others acknowledged their deal
appears unlikely to include a program that would have paid utilities that
switch to clean energy and penalized those that do not. Discussions on an
alternative continue, she and other lawmakers said Tuesday, as liberals seek
to overcome Manchin's opposition to the program.
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Some of the potential cuts did appear to frustrate liberal lawmakers.
Biden's new plan appeared to some in the room to underestimate the cost of
expanding Medicare, raising questions as to how much more Democrats might
have to scale back their other ambitions, according to two sources in the
room. A stern Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), meanwhile, later urged Biden
not to "give up" on a signature climate initiative simply in the face of
Manchin's opposition.
And Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who represents the poorest congressional
district in the country as measured by median income, said that he had
stressed Biden the importance of the child tax credit, which Torres pointed
to as the "greatest triumph of racial equity."
"I conveyed to the president that my two highest priorities are the child
tax credit and affordable housing," Torres (D-N.Y.) said in an interview.
"And I quoted the great philosopher Jimmy McMillan, who said the rent is too
damn high. We can't build back better if the rent is too damn high."
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At the Capitol, meanwhile, Senate Democrats emerged from their own private
lunch Tuesday expressing a sense of optimism about their ability to secure a
new framework this week. But it remained unclear exactly how detailed such a
deal might be, and how close the full caucus - including Sinema, a centrist
holdout who did not attend the session - is to backing it.
"Closer than you think," Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) said Tuesday about
the broader Democratic caucus. "What do they say about looking in your
rearview mirror. . The object may be closer than you think. This is
definitely doable. I am encouraged."
The flurry of activity foreshadows what could be a frenetic, final sprint to
end the year. Time is running out if lawmakers hope to deliver on Biden's
economic agenda before 2022, when the fight over fiscal issues could grow
even more intense entering a midterm election year that will determine
control of Congress in the final half of Biden's first term.
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Sensing the electoral stakes, the president is set to hit the road
Wednesday, visiting Scranton, Pa., his birthplace, to pitch voters again on
his vision. Previewing the trip, Psaki said Biden intends to "talk about
growing up in Scranton and the way his experience there influenced his
values and his belief that we need an economy that works for working
people."
The president's has put his full political weight behind two separate but
related packages. The first is a bipartisan, roughly $1.2 trillion plan to
improve the nation's roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections,
which cleared the Senate earlier this year. The second is a broader,
still-forming tax-and-spending package that Democrats hope to adopt using a
legislative tactic that allows them to sidestep a Republican filibuster.
Politically, it appears neither legislative effort can advance without the
other. Liberals have held up the infrastructure bill to maximize
negotiations over additional spending, but they cannot advance that second
package without centrists' support. With only slim voting majorities,
Democrats have no room for error in the face of sustained Republican
opposition, which GOP lawmakers reiterated in clear terms Tuesday.
"Every day, American families are feeling real pain because of the reckless
and inflationary policies that Democrats have already rammed through,"
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said during a speech on the
chamber floor.
Mike DeBonis contributed to this story.
