‘For Our Democratic Caucus, Failure Is Not an Option’
"We need a vote in the Senate because I want to make sure that there are no delays, that there are no mix-ups, no mixed understandings," Jayapal says
Democrats on Capitol Hill missed their Thursday deadline entirely, as they continue to struggle with how to pass a major spending bill which would enact much of President Biden's — and their own — domestic agenda ahead of next year's midterm elections.
However, even as they continue to flail for an actual solution, these Democrats, at least, are becoming more adamant about one thing: at this point, something has to pass into law.
"You know, there are a lot of discussions going on between the White House, Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi,” said Rep Debbie Dingell (D-Mich), referring to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “I want to make just a couple of comments. Everybody keeps wanting to focus on the division in the Democratic Party. Here is the reality: For our Democratic caucus, failure is not an option. We know that we have to deliver.
“There are a lot of healthy discussions, I called it at the beginning of the week it was going to be a week from hell, and it is, but I’m going to tell you something different. I’m actually seeing people talk to each other, to listen to each other, to hear different perspectives, to legislating. And I think that that’s actually a good thing,” Dingell added. “I don’t believe we'll leave here until we do get this figured out where we come together and figure out how we’re going to deliver.”
But that sort of positive attitude doesn't get Democrats any closer on specifics, when they still have to accommodate two of their own who have become something of renegades when it comes to the Biden and Democratic agenda: Sens. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema, of Arizona.
Manchin has signaled that he would support something no larger than less than half of the original $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act.
Rep Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash), one of the key negotiators this last week, still wants the Senate to approve some version of the Build Back Better Act before the House passes the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
All of this jockeying is over legislation to enact much of the Biden agenda, including childcare assistance, reduced prescription drug prices, the federal government's largest-ever investment in the fight against global climate change — and more.
“First of all let me start by saying I’m really proud of our caucus. We have been so united in standing up for the president’s agenda and really making sure that we don’t leave behind women who need childcare, families who need paid leave, communities that need us to address climate change, housing, immigration,” Jayapal said. “These are the things we’re fighting for in the Build Back Better agenda, and it's the president's agenda and I know the White House deeply appreciates that we’re fighting for the president’s agenda.
“Second, you know, I think as we’ve said from the beginning, we have been waiting for an offer to counter the $3.5 trillion on the table, and we understand we’ll have to get everybody on board in order to be able to close this deal. So, we’re waiting for that and I believe there are really good conversations happening at the White House with those senators on what that offer is going to be,” she added. “So until we get that, we don’t have anything to say about numbers. So, if you ask me about whether I’m willing to accept a number or not, there’s no number on the table and I’m not negotiating against myself. And then the third thing is just, you know, for those of you who have asked me what I need and what our caucus needs in terms of, you know, moving forward, I have consistently said that we need a vote in the Senate because I want to make sure that there are no delays, that there are no mix-ups, no mixed understandings about what the deal is. And so that’s what I’ve been saying.
“I am open to hearing what other options there are for that, but I am very concerned about legislative language, holding things up, vote-a-rama changing the deal, and those are the things that have to be addressed along with the content. So it’s both the content and process, and we’re working through all of that now and I feel positive,” Jayapal said. “I mean, I really believe we’re still going to deliver on both of these things, the entirety of the president’s agenda to his desk.”
Meanwhile, Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) complained that Manchin's not remained consistent throughout the process.
He supported a $4 trillion plan in January.
“So the question that we have is, is which senator are we negotiating with? Is this June Manchin? Is this September Manchin? Is this August Manchin? Will December Manchin be a — you know, will this be a different senator that comes up?” asked the prominent progressive.
“Smaller than the Trump tax cut”
Meanwhile, former top Obama White House economist Austan Goolsbee put the relatively small stakes Democrats are bickering over in perspective.
"I mean, it's about a 10 percent increase in the budget. The federal budget is about $4 trillion per year. This is 3.5 trillion over 10 years. And it's smaller than the Trump tax cut was,” he said. “The 'T' word is a big word, but that’s where we are in the modern economy."
Do you find this post of value?
Please share it…