Moderate Democrat says he can't back House spending plan 'in its current form'
By Aris Folley - 10/07/21 06:57 PM EDT
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) warned his colleagues on Thursday that the multitrillion-dollar social spending plan his party is working on “needs more work” to get his support.
In an opinion piece published by The Portland Press Herald, Golden said that while he's in favor of the Senate-passed $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure that the House has yet to vote on, he “cannot support” the larger spending package “in its current form.”
Both bills are major components of President Biden’s economic agenda that party leadership has set sights on passing through Congress by the end of the month. Democrats can afford just a handful of defections in the House on the broader spending package given the unified GOP opposition.
The party aims to pass the social spending plan using a procedure called reconciliation that will allow it to bypass a GOP filibuster in the 50-50 Senate. But Democrats have had trouble staying unified throughout the process as members continue to disagree on the size and scope of the legislation.
Golden is not the first moderate Democrat to raise concerns about aspects of the spending package. Several Democrats voted against portions of the legislation at the committee level.
Democratic Reps. Kurt Schrader (Ore.), Scott Peters (Calif.) and Kathleen Rice (N.Y.) voted against a proposal aimed at lowering drug prices, citing worries that the measure would hurt innovation in the pharmaceutical industry.
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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/budget/575860-moderate-house-dem-he-cant-back-partys-multitrillion-dollar-spending
