Inferior and opposed to them by the most powerful leaders of their party, nine moderate Democrats trying to turn plans to pass President Joe Biden’s multi-billion dollar domestic program face a showdown in the House of Representatives.
All the rebellious group has to do to prevail is outmaneuver the White House, spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi and numerous progressive colleagues who have stood firmly against them. It’s not a small task.
The House of Representatives will meet on Monday in what will hopefully be a two-day break in the legislature’s August break. They want swift approval of a budget decision that will see the future passage – perhaps this fall – of laws that direct $ 3.5 trillion for safety net, the environment, and other programs over the next decade.
This huge measure, funded largely through tax hikes for the rich and big business, is at the core of Biden’s vision of helping families and tackling climate change, and is a top priority for progressives.
The moderates have threatened to reject the budget resolution unless the House of Representatives first approves a $ 1 trillion 10-year package of road, power, broadband and other infrastructure projects that has already been passed by the Senate . With unanimous Republican opposition to the fiscal bill expected, nine moderate votes would be more than enough to sink it in the narrowly divided house.
The moderates want Congress to send the bipartisan infrastructure measure quickly to Biden so he can sign it before the political winds turn. That would nail a victory that they could promote in their re-election campaigns next year.
“The House cannot afford to wait months or do anything to risk it being passed,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer, DN.J., said Friday. He is a leader of the nine moderate loners who each issued statements affirming their desire that infrastructure vote comes first.
With most of Biden’s domestic political agenda at stake, it is inconceivable that Pelosi, California, would allow the centrists of their own party to inflict embarrassing defeat on them. This is especially true in the event that the president is already under fire for his handling of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the uncertain prospects for the Democrats in the elections to control Congress in 2022.
A solution to avert a Biden setback in the House of Representatives seems likely, but it was unclear what that would be.
Pelosi, a leading Democrat in the House of Representatives since 2003, has a long history of doing whatever it takes to get the votes she needs on important issues.
She said in a weekend letter to the Democratic members of the House of Representatives that it was crucial to get the budget resolution passed this week and that any delay would jeopardize the timetable for implementing “the transformative vision that Democrats share”.
“It is important that our caucus be united in our determination to make children’s progress once a century,” she wrote.
On Friday, her office released a letter from the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus urging lawmakers to support the budget decision. Four of the nine moderates who have called for the infrastructure bill to be passed first are members of that faction.
Chairman, Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-California, wrote that provisions such as expanded child tax breaks and a path to citizenship for many immigrants would provide “a fair recovery” for Hispanic and other families.
The House Blue Dog Coalition, a group that includes some of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, has also announced that the infrastructure measure will be passed as soon as possible but has stopped threatening to reject the budget decision. Eight of its 19 members are among the nine moderates who threatened to vote against the budget.
So far, neither the moderates nor the powerful forces facing them have shown movement.
Biden met virtually with Pelosi and other Democratic leaders and committee chairs late last week. As a token of solidarity, the White House and Pelosi subsequently made similar statements, demonstrating their determination to approve the measures soon and ostentatiously ignoring the moderates’ call for infrastructure to be built first.
“The president noted that these policies put the values he pursued at the center,” the White House statement said. Biden reiterated his enthusiasm for signing $ 1 trillion in infrastructure and $ 3.5 trillion in social and environmental laws “ASAP.”
The House scheduled a Monday night vote on a measure that would open the door for the later adoption of the budget decision, infrastructure bill and a voting measure, another key target for the Democrats.
Unless the moderates decide against the procedural measure, the Democrats who control Chamber 220-212 should be able to enforce it. To pass a bill against solid GOP opposition, the Democrats cannot lose more than three votes.
Should the procedural measure go through, the heads of state and government planned a vote on the budget decision on Tuesday. Statements by both sides last week showed that they remained divided.
Among the moderates, MP Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said in an interview: “No progressive will stuff anything down my throat.” Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, said the failure to pass the infrastructure bill quickly “leaves the country’s economy and crumbling infrastructure hostage to political gimmicks.”
On the flip side, Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., Progressive leader said in an interview that Democrats who “do not actively support” Biden’s priorities are “not moderates,” suggesting they are conservative.
The Justice Democrats group, which recruits progressive candidates, including challengers to incumbent Congressmen, issued a call for funds saying Gottheimer was supported by “the worst of the political establishment.” It didn’t say who they were.
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