Biden Eyes Thursday Vote On Giant Social Safety Net Expansion

Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Nov, 2021 ) :President Joe Biden aimed to turn his win on sweeping infrastructure reform into success on the social welfare plank of his historic domestic agenda as lawmakers moved towards a vote Thursday on his Build Back Better blueprint.

Earlier this month Congress passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure act -- America's biggest public-works package since Dwight Eisenhower created the interstate highway system in 1956.

House Democrats are on track to follow that by passing the party-line $1.75 trillion "human infrastructure" package, although jitters over spiraling gas and food prices may ensure it has a trickier time when it is sent for tweaking in the Senate.

"Unemployment claims are down nearly 70 percent since I took office. Retail sales are up," Biden said in a statement posted to social media.

"I've signed a historic infrastructure law and we have the Build Back Better Act on its way. Things are looking up." His optimism looked well placed as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Pelosi confirmed plans soon after to vote Thursday evening.

"At the close of the debate, all that remains is to take up the vote -- so that we can pass this legislation and achieve President Biden's vision to Build Back Better," she said in a letter to House Democrats.

The legislation would greenlight transformative investments in education, health care, housing and the climate, providing millions of jobs, according to the White House.

It will likely be watered down in the upper chamber, however, where Democrats have the narrowest of majorities and moderates are voicing concerns over Biden's spending plans.

Annual inflation jumped to 6.2 percent last month, giving Republicans another cudgel to bash Biden with as they bid to retake both chambers of Congress in next year's midterm elections.

House Democrats, who cannot afford to lose more than three members to win any party-line vote, believe they can overcome persistent infighting over the price tag that has dogged debate over Build Back Better for months.

A handful of centrist Democrats wanted a full analysis from the Congressional Budget Office to clarify the cost of the package before they will agree to vote.

That came in the early evening, with the CBO saying Build Back Better would boost the deficit by $367 billion over 10 years.

This might normally be a problem for deficit hawks in the center, but they are believed to have been assuaged by preemptive statements from White House officials who point out that the estimate does not include savings that could be made through tougher taxation enforcement.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that Build Back Better was "fully paid for," and would help reduce the deficit in the long run via reforms "that ask the wealthiest Americans and large corporations to pay their fair share." Senate insiders expect the bill to be taken up by the upper chamber in December or possibly January, with more urgent priorities such as avoiding a debt default and a government shutdown expected to take up much of the holiday period.

The Senate has been locked in a 50-50 split for one of the longest periods in its history, and, with no votes to spare, every Democrat effectively has a veto on any bill as long as Republicans stick together.

Senate progressives are pushing for a national paid family leave program and a bigger expansion of health care benefits, but the latest inflation data could harm those efforts.

West Virginia's Senator Joe Manchin, the biggest Democratic obstacle to getting the legislation to Biden's desk, has indicated he is opposed to family leave, one of the most popular planks of the package.

He has argued in any case that the Democrats should pump the brakes on spending until inflation is brought under control.

Tensions between moderates and progressives in the House have eased as they look to clear the bill -- but it remains unclear whether either side will vote for the version that comes back from the Senate.

"We are going to keep working on this important legislation until we get it done," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech.