House Passes Bidens Build Back Better Bill

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives just about passed the centerpiece of President Biden's domestic agenda on Friday, approving $ 2.2 trillion spending over the next decade to fight climate change, build health care and improve the country's social safety net against the unanimous opposition of the Republicans.

The passing of the bill, 220 to 213, came after weeks of flattery, arm twisting and legislative sleight of hand by the Democrats. It was crowned by a grueling, awkward, and record-breaking speech by House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California of more than eight hours, postponing a scheduled vote past midnight on Thursday and then postponing it to Friday morning – but unity did nothing to destroy the Democrats.

Dazed lawmakers gathered again at 8 a.m., three hours after Mr. McCarthy finally gave up the floor, to begin the final series of votes to propose one of the most momentous bills in half a century to the Senate.

"Under that dome, members of Congress have stood for centuries right where we pass laws of extraordinary importance to our nation's history and to the future of our nation," said spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, adding that the law is "the pillar of health will be". and financial security in America. "

The bill still has a long and difficult road to go. Democratic leaders have to make it through the 50-50 Senate and go through a tortuous budget process that will almost certainly reshape the measure and force it back on to the House of Representatives – if it goes through at all.

But even if you leave the $ 3.5 trillion plan that Mr Biden initially aspired to, the legislation could prove to be as transformative as any since the Great Society and the War on Poverty in the 1960s, in particular for young families and older Americans. The Congressional Budget Office released an official cost estimate Thursday afternoon that stated the package would add $ 160 billion to the federal budget deficit over 10 years.

"It puts us on the path to rebuilding our economy better than before by restoring the backbone of America: the working people and the middle class," Biden said in a statement. He called on the Senate to pass the measure swiftly.

The evaluation found that the package would cost a little more overall than Mr Biden's latest proposal – $ 2.2 trillion instead of $ 1.85 trillion.

Republicans, who for months railed against the move as a costly initiative that would lead the nation towards socialism, wasted little time promising to use it against the Democrats in next year's midterm elections.

"This bill would exacerbate inflation by pumping trillions of dollars in lavish spending into the economy, granting tax cuts to the rich, raising taxes on middle-class families, and adding hundreds of billions of billions of national debt," said Ronna McDaniel, Republican National Committee Chairwoman said in a statement ridiculing the law Mr Biden called the Build Back Better Act as "Build Back Broke".

"Americans will see through their lies, and the R.N.C. will ensure voters do not forget the Democrats' failure next November, "said Ms McDaniel.

The bill provides for a universal pre-kindergarten, generous grants for childcare that extends well into the middle class, expanded grants for college, hundreds of billions of dollars in housing assistance, home and community care for older Americans, new hearing aid for Medicare, and price controls for prescription drugs.

More than half a trillion dollars would go into shifting the US economy from fossil fuels to renewables and electric cars, the biggest investment ever made to slow the planet's warming. The package would be largely paid for in high income and corporate tax increases that are estimated to raise nearly $ 1.5 trillion over 10 years.

Savings on government spending on prescription drugs are expected to generate an additional $ 260 billion.

The fact that the bill could add marginally to the federal deficit didn't stop Democrats in the House of Representatives from voting in favor, in part because the analysis boiled down to a dispute over a single item: How Much I.R.S. would collect by cracking down on people and companies dodging large tax bills.

Legislation is an important part of Mr Biden's domestic agenda, coupled with a $ 1 trillion infrastructure package that the president signed this week. The road to the vote on Friday was arduous, from midsummer to deep autumn, with negotiations that saw liberal lawmakers face centrists and house democrats against senators.

And from the start, Republicans – who made it clear that they could never support a package of the scope and ambition Mr Biden proposed – were left out of the talks. While some Republicans voted in favor of the infrastructure move, they unanimously opposed the social safety net package, arguing that it would constitute a dangerous federal government interference in every aspect of American life and exacerbate rising costs across the country.

A Republican House campaign arm spokeswoman said the Democrats "appear to be aiming to destroy our economy before they lose a majority". And in the Senate, party leaders openly urged Democratic senators to suppress their party's marquee legislation.

"Few Senate Democrats can protect American families from these radical and painful policies," said Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader. "It's up to you to kill that bill."

It was Mr. McCarthy, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, who in this Chamber made a futile last-ditch opposition to the measure, taking advantage of the so-called "magic minute" – a custom that allows party leaders to speak without time pressure when they are theirs Minute ground time is granted.

He held the floor well into Friday morning, railing against the bill and the Biden government for more than eight hours, breaking the record for the longest uninterrupted speech by the House in modern history set by Ms. Pelosi in 2018, before it closed at 5:10 am. Some Democrats ostentatiously went out before speaking, sometimes interrupting his anti-law speech with boos, heckling and mockery.

"Every page of all these new editions in Washington shows how irresponsible and aloof the Democrats are to the challenges America is facing today," McCarthy said during his speech, which apparently aimed to improve his Republican base for a message for the midterm elections and polishes up his own offer for the office of spokesman, if his party should prevail.

But just hours later, Democrats came into the Chamber joking about the lack of sleep and were ready to vote. And if Democrats feared the political ramifications, it was not apparent from the closing balance, which reflected support among those from the most competitive counties.

When the number of votes exceeded 218, the Democrats began hugging and dancing in the hallways of the House of Representatives, singing "Build Back Better". When Ms. Pelosi pounded the hammer to signal the end of the vote, lawmakers swarmed her on the floor of the House of Representatives, shouting her name and cheering as the Republicans sat blankly in the room.

Biden's draft law on social policy at a glance

The only Democrat to oppose the bill, Maine Rep. Jared Golden, did so after raising concerns earlier this month about the inclusion of a provision that would limit the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes paid generously from $ 10,000 a year would increase to $ 80,000. However, he suggested in a series of statements on Twitter that once he reaches the Senate, his vote could still be won with changes to the so-called SALT proposal and other possible tweaks.

The action – after months of time-consuming maneuvering over the bill – was fueled in part by legislators' eagerness to complete their job and leave Washington for their weeklong Thanksgiving break. It came about eight months after Mr Biden unveiled the first part of his domestic political agenda, and after several near-death experiences for the package that exposed deep divisions within his party.

The vote showed a remarkable democratic unity in the face of the struggle to achieve it. A group of moderate and conservative objectors, suspicious of the size of the bill, had endured an official estimate before pledging to support it.

But after the Congressional Budget Office, the official financial scorekeeper's section-wise estimates, were released on Thursday, most of them were swayed. According to a person familiar with the discussion, White House officials met privately with the group Thursday night to walk them through the government's analysis and budget tables.

For the Democrats, the bill may be the last significant opportunity to enforce their domestic ambitions: a series of environmental regulations, government support for education and childcare, and fulfillment of a long-standing election promise to combat the rising cost of prescription drugs.

"Now it's just going to be about telling our story – that's the challenge," said Richard E. Neal, Massachusetts Rep. Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, as staff carried fresh cups of coffee into his ceremonial office.

It is almost guaranteed that the Senate legislation will change, where two Democratic centrists, Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have yet to explicitly approve it. In an evenly split Senate, a single garbage could sink the passage, and Democrats will have to maneuver the bill through their own internal divisions and a quick series of politically difficult amendments that could turn the bill on its head.

At a celebratory press conference with senior Democratic leaders, Ms. Pelosi downplayed the scale of possible change and vowed that "at the end of the day we will have a great bill."

Democrats also need to ensure that the entire plan adheres to the strict rules that govern the reconciliation process, forcing the removal of any provisions that have no direct fiscal implications. These rules have already forced the party to abandon a plan that included a route to citizenship in the draft law for undocumented immigrants.

The Senate MP who makes these rules has yet to issue guidelines for his latest proposal to temporarily protect millions of migrants long-term living in the United States from deportation.

Other elements of the plan may also be postponed due to objections from individual senators. Mr Manchin in particular has raised a number of concerns, including four weeks of federal paid family and sick leave and calls for a charge to be introduced on emissions of methane, a powerful pollutant.

And some Liberals have opposed the House of Representatives ruling to generously increase the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes paid, which would primarily benefit wealthy homeowners who itemize their deductions. Instead, she and other senators are discussing an income limit to limit those who could avail of the increased deduction.

While some Democrats have publicly complained about the inclusion, several lawmakers from high-tax countries such as New York and New Jersey had made it a requirement for their votes.

Democratic leaders have suggested that the Senate pass the bill before the end of the year, despite a number of other pressing budget deadlines piling up in December.

"We will act as soon as possible to get this bill to President Biden's desk and help middle-class families," New York majority leader Senator Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

Coverage was contributed by Jim Tankersley, Alan Rappeport, Margot Sanger-Katz, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, and Luke Broadwater.