Democrats prepare to take second run at Biden spending plan
by Jordain Carney - 04/18/22 5:15 AM ET
Top Democrats and the White House are eyeing a revival of a stalled-out, tax-and-spending bill as the party tries to show deliverables to voters heading into a November election where they are facing tough political headwinds.
The hopes of reviving Build Back Better—albeit, significantly altered and likely with a different name—comes after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) deep-sixed a roughly $2 trillion, House-passed bill late last year. Since then they’ve struggled with when, or how, to revive the issue with most of the political oxygen focused on a Supreme Court vacancy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But Democrats are signaling they want to turn back to the spending plan that was meant to be the center of a stalled legislative agenda after a current two-week break even as they face many of the same hurdles and intra-party tensions that plagued the 2021 talks.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain pointed to a reconciliation bill—which lets Democrats pass key priorities without needing GOP votes—as on the party’s legislative to-do list.
“We have to come back and figure out what formula works with the 50 to get it passed in the Senate,” Klain said in an interview with NBC’s The Chuck ToddCast podcast.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), during a recent press conference, acknowledged that discussions are still relatively nascent between Democratic senators and Manchin, but said that clinching a spending deal is still a priority for the caucus.
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https://thehill.com/news/senate/3270269-democrats-prepare-to-take-second-run-at-biden-spending-plan/
