While the deal amounted to the most significant development yet in negotiations, the effort is already facing stiff resistance from liberal Senate Democrats eager to abandon bipartisan talks.
“Let’s face it. It’s time to move forward,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, told CNN last week about the talks with the bipartisan group. “The Republicans have held us up long enough.”
While the group didn’t publicly reveal specifics of the agreement, several sources told CNN they crafted a package that includes:
- $1.2 trillion of spending over eight years
- $974 billion spent over the first five years
- The plan calls for $579 billion dollars of new spending.
- The spending will be focused on core, physical infrastructure.
- The plan will be paid for without tax hikes.
- Many of the specific details still need to be ironed out.
But many Republicans are wary that the price tag is too high, while many Democrats prefer a much more ambitious and expensive plan that they think will boost the economy, aid the climate and create jobs.
The result is a two-track path for Democrats: Party leaders say they are pursuing Biden’s massive infrastructure and social safety net package along both bipartisan and partisan lanes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is preparing to begin the budget process next month, setting the stage for advancing a bill along straight party lines, something that can only succeed if all 50 Democrats endorse such a process known as reconciliation.
Where the White House comes down on the plan will matter a lot. While many Democrats expressed concerns that their party’s negotiators were giving up too much in the talks, if the President endorses the plan, it could force many to fall in line.
“The President appreciates the Senators’ work to advance critical investments we need to create good jobs, prepare for our clean energy future, and compete in the global economy,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement last week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for her part, said Sunday she’s “very pleased” that a deal was reached, but she warned the proposal might be a tough sell to the House Democratic Caucus if more isn’t included.
Policing overhaul talks up against the clock
“It’s a little more complicated than just the top four or five issues that we’ve been covering, because the devil in the details of the actual body of the pieces of legislation are complicated and there are very big differences,” he said.
Asked by CNN why the talks, which have stretched on for many weeks, are taking so long, Scott said combining the two very large bills is proving to be complicated. “Have you read the two bills? They’re long,” he said. “So, I don’t mean that to be sarcastic. In all honesty, comparing the two bills, and then coming to a solution on the two sides is really hard.”
Sen. Cory Booker, the key Senate Democratic negotiator, agreed Thursday that there’s “a lot of work to be done” but maintained that the parties can still reach an agreement by the end of the month.
“I think we are days, but that could be 30 days or 25 days, who knows, and there’s a lot of work to be done in a very short period of time,” the New Jersey Democrat told reporters, when asked whether the negotiators are days away or far from reaching a deal.
Pressed on whether he’s concerned about some progressive organizations not wanting a compromise on qualified immunity, Booker said, “I’m going to get the best deal we can possibly get, and if it’s not making substantive and meaningful reform that will, you know, create more transparent policing, more accountable policing and potentially save lives then I don’t think there’s any reason to do it.”
Supporters of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act say it would boost police accountability and help eradicate racial bias in policing.
Progressive groups move to pressure Senate on voting rights
The broad package, which was passed by the House in March, would bar states from limiting voting by mail, would require prepaid postage on absentee ballots and would mandate voter registration on the same day as the election. It also effectively would overturn voter ID laws by requiring states to allow voters to submit sworn statements in lieu of identification.
The bill’s proponents are expected to hammer out changes to the roughly 800-page bill to make it more palatable to all members of their caucus and address the concerns of local election officials.
The current version, for instance, mandates 15 consecutive days of early voting with polls open at least 10 hours a day. But Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, one of the Democrats guiding the measure through the Senate, has sought to exempt jurisdictions with fewer than 3,000 registered voters and those that mail ballots to all voters, following feedback from election officials.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is the only Democrat who is not a co-sponsor of the original legislation, but other Democrats have expressed concerns with the current draft of the bill in private meetings.
Activists say they are preparing for a range of outcomes, including an all-out drive against the filibuster during the senators’ July Fourth recess, if the bill falters in the Senate later this month.
CNN’s Ryan Nobles, Daniella Diaz, Ted Barrett and Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.
Source : CNN