House passes Biden’s $1.75 trillion social and climate spending plan. CNN warns it's 'too soon' for Dems to celebrate as showdown looms in Senate.



The House of Representatives on Friday passed President Joe Biden's trimmed-down but still behemoth $1.75 trillion social and climate spending package, but now the bill is headed for the Senate, where its fate is less certain.

Anticipated opposition in the upper chamber has prompted a warning from left-leaning media outlet CNN that it's "too soon for Democrats to declare victory as Build Back Better bill moves forward."

What are the details?

The bill, known as the Build Back Better Act, was narrowly approved by House lawmakers in a 220-213 largely party-line vote, CNBC reported. Only one moderate Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against the bill.

The BBB Act will fund many of the president's key progressive initiatives, including the installment of universal pre-K, Medicare expansion, green energy policies, and expanded child tax credits. The Biden administration's original proposals for the spending package totaled between $3 trillion and $3.5 trillion.

Despite the setbacks — which included cutting the measure in half and a delayed vote due to House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy's eight-and-a-half-hour filibuster speech — Democrats celebrated the bill's passage as a transformative achievement.

"Today, the United States House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act to take another giant step forward in carrying out my economic plan to create jobs, reduce costs, make our country more competitive, and give working people and the middle class a fighting chance," Biden said in a statement after the bill's passage.

The president once again claimed that the measure is "fully paid for" in spite of the Congressional Budget Office's score, which suggests that the plan will add $367 billion to the deficit over 10 years from 2021 until 2031.

It should be noted, too, that the CBO's score is actually generous to the administration. TheBlaze has previously reported that a separate analysis of the bill suggests its cost could be more than twice as high as what the White House claims.

Nevertheless, Biden went on to guarantee that the bill "will not add to inflationary pressures" but instead "will boost the capacity of our economy and reduce costs for millions of families."

What's next?

Now that the bill has passed the Democrat-controlled House, it will move on to the Senate, where stiffer opposition and calls for significant revision are anticipated.

Democrats narrowly control the Senate, but only with the tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris, which means that every single Democratic senator will need to be in favor of the bill for it to pass.

That outcome is considered somewhat shaky given the opposition that the bill has already faced from moderate Democrats like Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.).

Manchin has said that the bill as written would end up "hurting" American families already under pressure from soaring inflation and that "the real cost" of the bill is being masked by "shell games and budget gimmicks."

His opposition has been slammed by progressives as "anti-Black, anti-child, anti-woman, and anti-immigrant." But Manchin's constituents appear to be on his side, increasing the chances that he may stand firm and sink the bill.

In its report on the House passage, CNN notes the "triumph is tempered by new questions over whether the $1.9 trillion measure can survive the Senate and then offer the short-term jolt of political energy Biden's wobbling presidency needs."

During heated negotiations, Manchin tells Sanders he's 'comfortable with zero' dollars for Biden's social spending plan: 'We shouldn't do it at all'



Democratic negotiations on President Joe Biden's multitrillion-dollar "Build Back Better" spending plan don't seem to be progressing the way the Biden administration had hoped.

Despite public words of optimism and a cheery photo-op Monday, closed-door talks between Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) have reportedly gone sour.

What are the details?

Axios reported that during a Wednesday lunch for Democratic Senate committee chairs, the two lawmakers sparred over everything from the finer details of the plan to whether they should even advance a large spending plan at all.

At the end of the meeting, a massive chasm of $3 trillion to $6 trillion still existed between the two sides.

"Joe said, 'I'm comfortable with nothing.' Bernie said, 'We need to do three-and-a-half [trillion dollars].' The truth is both of them are in different spots," Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mt.), chairman of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, reportedly told Axios following the meeting.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who was also present at the meeting, said, "There was a vigorous, 10-minute discussion. Bernie said, '$6 trillion.'"

At one point, "[Manchin] said, 'We shouldn't do it at all,'" Coons recounted, adding that the West Virginia lawmaker argued, "This will contribute to inflation. We've already passed the American Rescue Plan. We should just pass the infrastructure bill and, you know, pause for six months."

Tester said that Manchin reiterated, "I'm comfortable with zero," and formed a raised-fist goose egg in order to get his opinion across with particular clarity.

What else?

Axios noted that Manchin's comfort level with not doing the spending plan at all, along with his willingness to sharply oppose Sanders in front of other Democrats, "reveals a stark reality for Democratic negotiators: Manchin can control the final dollar amount."

Nevertheless, colleagues of the two lawmakers continued to project aspirations that a deal could be reached by Friday.

Overall, Coons claimed there was "significant progress." Tester chalked the squabbling up to a mere "difference in opinion." Both he and Tester assured Axios that a top-line figure could still be brokered this week.

They might want to check with Manchin. The West Virginia senator plainly told reporters Thursday afternoon, "This is not gonna happen anytime soon, guys."

Anything else?

Subsequent reports have indicated that any brokered deal is likely to come in at a significantly lower dollar amount than the $3.5 trillion initially proposed by the Biden administration.

Democrats have already reportedly dropped free college tuition from the plan in order to make the bill more appealing to the likes of Manchin and other moderates. In recent days, Biden has reportedly floated a $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion top line.

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