Biden unveils ‘historic economic framework’ as he urges Dems to pass legislative agenda
social spending package before he departed. But Senate and House Democrats have struggled to reach an agreement on key provisions of Biden’s economic package, which aims to expand the social safety net, and how to pay for it.
“There are still details, of course, to be ironed out,” White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on the flight to Rome. “We see today as making progress.”
What’s in the proposal?
The framework – which was trimmed of several key Democratic priorities including federal paid family leave and lowering the cost of prescription drugs – also includes $130 billion to reduce health care premiums for people covered under the Affordable Care Act and expand Medicaid coverage for an additional 4 million people. There’s also a new $35 billion investment in hearing aid benefits for seniors covered by Medicare – but not vision or dental as initially proposed.
Another $150 billion would go toward easing a backlog for in-home care for seniors and disabled Americans as well as to improve working conditions for home health care employees.
The climate provisions include clean energy tax credits and incentives to spur new domestic supply chains and technologies like solar, batteries and advanced materials.
Though the president’s campaign pledge to include two years of free community college failed to make it into the framework, the plan includes $40 billion for Pell grants and investment in historically Black colleges and universities and higher education institutions.
The proposal includes $150 billion to build 1 million affordable housing units.
Some of the provisions are time-limited to reduce the overall cost of the bill.
Still, Biden called the latest framework a “fundamental game changer for families and for our economy.”
“This is about competitiveness versus complacency,” he said in remarks. “It’s about leading the world or letting the world pass us by.”
One of the biggest sticking points in negotiations was how to pay for the expansive package. The latest outline plans to implement a 15% corporate minimum tax on large companies and a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks. It also includes a global minimum tax and a new 5% surtax on income over $10 million a year, according to White House officials. The plan also includes investment in the Internal Revenue Service to boost enforcement for tax evasion.
More:‘Billionaires income tax’: What we know about Sen. Ron Wyden’s plan
The framework will include a provision that would offer protection for immigrants in the U.S. illegally, but details on what that will consist of have yet to be released and must be approved by the Senate parliamentarian.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said he’s hopeful the parliamentarian will make a decision this week.An additional immigration provision would bump the price tag to $1.85 trillion.
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On Capitol Hill, the president urged House Democrats to back his new framework and insisted that it would get 50 votes in the Senate, according to a source familiar who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss details of the closed-door meeting.
He said they “badly need a vote” on both measures and added it wasn’t “hyperbole” to say that the House and Senate majorities and his presidency hinge on “what happens in the next week.”
The head of the Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said earlier Thursday she wanted to see “what’s actually in the bill” rather than just a framework.
“I think that will show tremendous momentum,” Jayapal said of a framework. “But we want to see the actual text because we don’t want any confusion and misunderstandings.”
Jayapal said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also has concerns.
“It needs to be improved,” Sanders later told reporters.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., reiterated that progressives want to see both bills move at the same time. In the narrowly divided House, the opposition of a handful of Democrats could doom either bill.
“If there is urgency in getting this done, the senators need to understand that urgency as well,” she said.
Durbin said it is not clear that all 50 members of the Democratic Caucus will support the social welfare legislation.
“No, I wish I could say yes, but there’s a great deal of uncertainty within the caucus as to what’s contained in the deal,” Durbin said. “I will tell you there is a will to do it. And I think a positive feeling 48 senators, we’ve been waiting to satisfy two senators, hope that we can do that soon.”
The president will defer to Pelosi on timing of when to bring the bills to the floor, but the spending package framework will guide the writing of the legislative text, according to a White House official.
The head of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., voiced disappointment that paid family leave is being dropped from the legislation and that a refundable child tax credit is extended for one year rather than permanently.
“That’s obviously not where I wanted to go,” DeLauro said of the child tax credit.
Members of Congress get paid time off when they are sick, she said. “Isn’t it unfortunate that will not be the case for the American people?”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said before Biden traveled to the Hill that there “just aren’t enough details right now” to get her support.
There are other ways of getting there besides full legislative language, she said, “but it needs to be something a little bit more than a back of an envelope.”
“Because there’s been so many changes in this process,” she said. “Yes. No. Doing the Hokey Pokey. One foot in. One foot out. So we need certainty that we’re going to be able to deliver for working people.”
Former President Barack Obama offered his praise to help shore up Democratic support, calling the framework the “best chance we’ve had in years to build on the progress we made during my administration and address some of the most urgent challenges of our time.”
“In a country as large and diverse as ours, progress can often feel frustrating and slow, with small victories accompanied by frequent setbacks,” Obama said in a statement. “But once in a while, it’s still possible to take a giant leap forward. That’s what the Build Back Better framework represents.”
Contributing: Rebecca Morin and Matt Brown