Democrats see a mysterious legislative tool to pass parts of Covid’s relief bill

Democrats see a mysterious legislative tool to pass parts of Covid’s relief bill

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Although the leadership has not yet publicly endorsed and negotiations with Republicans are still starting, advisers tell CNN that the process is complicated and mysterious, which is why they are preparing now, if they need to use it.

“You just can’t do that overnight,” said a Democratic Senate aide, referring to why the process is already starting.

And more directly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told donors in a call from Zoom on Thursday that she wanted to pass Covid’s relief bill in two weeks using budget reconciliation, a family source told the CNN.

While the Biden administration’s primary goal is to approve its nearly $ 2 trillion plan with bipartisan support through the normal Senate process, chances are good that it will win enough Republicans to pass another huge stimulus bill just months after a package of more $ 900 billion to be approved by the Senate in December. Many Republicans have already signaled that they consider the package too expensive or even unnecessary at this point.

“We just spent $ 900 billion in assistance why would we have such a big package now? Maybe in a few months,” said Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Maine Republican. “The needs will be evident and we will need to do something meaningful. But I am not seeing that now.”

In turn, the Biden government began to meet with Republicans who they identified as potentially supporting the package in an effort to build support.

“I had a good assessment of Covid’s proposal,” Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who is running for re-election in 2022 earlier this week, told reporters. “It was an opportunity for me to ask some questions.”

But behind the scenes, lawmakers recognize that time is of the essence and are preparing to work for reconciliation, if necessary. The chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committee do not hesitate to speak publicly about their plans.

“The caucus prefers this to be done on a bipartisan basis. We have not yet made the decision to use reconciliation, but we are prepared to act very quickly if it appears that we cannot do otherwise,” Rep. John Yarmuth, a Kentucky Democrat and chairman of the House Budget Committee, said on Thursday.

Hours later, Senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, told NBC’s Seth Meyers that the first goal was to try to reach the Republicans, but he argued that they couldn’t wait for them to come.

“I think we should contact the Republicans if they choose not to participate, which I suspect will probably be the case … we should use that majority very aggressively,” said Sanders. “In my opinion, we must be sure to meet the needs of the American people in that reconciliation project and, if we approve it with 51 votes, we will approve it with 51 votes.

The first step would be to approve a budget bill in committee to unlock the process. That done, Senate Democrats could reshape Biden’s bill to fit a very specific framework of what is allowed in the process. Reconciliation requires that whatever is approved has a real impact on the budget and not just “incidental”. The process also requires that the proposals have no impact on social security and that the impacts on the budget do not exceed a 10-year window if the changes are permanent. As the process requires jumping over many obstacles and consulting the Senate parliamentarian, the committee’s team has been working for weeks to make sure it understands and is ready for the process, if necessary.

Democrats frustrated by obstruction dispute paralyzes Senate power-sharing deal

“There is not much room for error,” said another Democratic aide, noting that the committees will have to examine Bidens’ proposal step by step to see what can fit in the reconciliation.

Republicans used the reconciliation process when they tried to repeal and replace Obamacare in 2017 in the Senate. The Republican Party successfully used the process months later to revise the country’s tax code, which was approved only with Republican votes.
Conversations about reconciliation have been reinvigorated in recent days, as Democrats have been frustrated by stalled negotiations to organize the Senate. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell insisted and insisted that majority leader Chuck Schumer agree to preserve the obstruction for the next two years. The obstruction protects the minority party in the Senate, requiring the legislation to reach a procedural limit of 60 votes before it is passed. Schumer argued that politics has never been part of an organizational resolution before, but the issue has delayed the process of creating committees and approving Biden’s nominees.

There are still doubts about which parts of Covid de Biden’s bailout package could move forward under reconciliation. Some advisers have identified that items such as the $ 15 minimum wage may have difficulty meeting the criteria.

Annie Grayer of CNN contributed to this report.

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