House APPROVES Biden's $3.5trillion budget: President uses start of his Afghanistan speech to thank Nancy Pelosi for her 'masterful leadership' in making to deal to pass huge agenda
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday reached a deal with moderates in her party that cleared the way for passage of President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion budget framework and set a Sept. 27 House vote on infrastructure.
'I am committing to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by September 27. I do so with a commitment to rally House Democratic support for its passage,' Pelosi said in a statement.
The deal quelled a war between moderates and liberals in the House that threatened to derail Biden's domestic agenda.
The House on Tuesday afternoon passed the budget in a measure that also allows for future votes on both the infrastructure bill and on a voting rights measure that was on track to pass later Tuesday.
Democrats approved the measure on a 220-212 party line vote.
President Biden used the start of his Afghanistan speech to praise Democrats in the House for passing his agenda and thanked Nancy Pelosi for being 'masterful in her leadership'.
‘These investments are going to lower out of pocket expenses for families, and not just give them a little more breathing room. In addition we're going to make long overdue much needed investments in basic hard infrastructure of this nation,’ he said in remarks at the White House.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday reached a deal with moderates in her party that cleared the way for passage of President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion budget framework and set a Sept. 27 House vote on infrastructure
President Biden praised Democrats in the House for passing his agenda at the start of his Afghanistan speech and thanked Pelosi for being 'masterful in her leadership'
‘The bottom line is, in my view, we're a step closer to truly investing in the American people, positioning our economy for long-term growth, and building an America that outcompetes the rest of the world. My goal is to build an economy from the bottom up and middle out, not just the top down, and that's what we're on our way of doing,’ he added.
He specifically praised Pelosi and her leadership team for shepherding the deal through the House. He also thanked all the Democrats in the House for their work – an olive branch to both the moderates and liberals in the party whose squabbling put his agenda in danger.
‘Look, I want to thank Speaker Pelosi who was masterful in her leadership on this,’ he said.
He downplayed the tensions among Democrats to focus on the final passage.
‘I also want to thank every Democrat in the House who worked so hard over the last few weeks to reach an agreement and who supported the process for House consideration of the jobs and infrastructure plan,’ he added. ‘There were differences, strong points of view. The difference is we came together to advance our agenda.’
The Senate approved the budget resolution earlier this month.
Budget resolutions do not become law but act as a framework for the policies within.
The resolution passed in both chambers sets up the budget resolution to pass the 50-50 Senate without a single Republican vote.
Pelosi on Monday night delayed a procedural vote on the budget, sending lawmakers home after midnight when she failed to reach a deal with 10 moderate members of her party who were holding up the process.
'We will come back tomorrow,' Pelosi told reporters as she left the Capitol shortly after midnight. She was on the phone with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer as she left the building.
Negotiations continued behind closed doors in the Capitol on Tuesday morning as Democratic leaders tried to broker a deal that appeased both the moderate and liberal wings of the Democratic Party and that would allow passage for the budget and a bipartisan infrastructure plan.
House leaders rescheduled the vote for Tuesday afternoon in a second attempt - a sign that a deal has been made.
'When we bring up the bill, we will have the votes,' Pelosi told reporters upon her return to the Capitol on Tuesday morning.
Pelosi hoped to pass the $3.5 trillion budget quickly, which would allow lawmakers to begin filling in the details on a sweeping package that would include sweeping social programs such as free pre-K, free community college, expanded paid family and medical leave and climate change programs. It would also raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations.
But moderate Democrats, led by Representative Josh Gottheimer announced they would not support the budget until the House first passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that has already won approval by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.
Liberals said they won't support the smaller infrastructure package without the larger budget deal.
Democrats hold a narrow 220-212 majority in the House and Republicans have said they will not support the budget plan. Pelosi cannot afford to lose votes from either wing if she wants both pieces of legislative - top priorities of President Biden's - passed.
Democrats leaders worked on a 'rule' to govern the passage of both pieces of legislation that would have the budget 'deemed' passed.
House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern told reporters it would also set up an agreement to vote on the infrastructure deal by late September, which would appease moderates.
Democrats huddled behind closed doors in the basement of the Capitol for more than hour on Monday night as Pelosi, Hoyer and other leaders pleaded with the party to come together.
The internecine battle has threatened to derail Biden's domestic agenda.
'Right now, we have an opportunity to pass something so substantial for our country, so transformative we haven´t seen anything like it,' Pelosi said, a source told the Associated Press.
House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern has helped with negotiations with moderate Democrats, led by Representative Josh Gottheimer
Al Capone was masterful too...
ReplyDeleteMaybe not as corrupt though.