Less than two weeks after approving a comprehensive coronavirus aid package without any support from the Republican Party, Democratic lawmakers are again looking for ways to circumvent Republican votes on infrastructure legislation, drug prices and climate policy.
Politico reported on Monday that leading Democrats increasingly believe Republicans are determined to block President Biden’s agenda. While they are still publicly courting a bipartisan agreement, some Democrats have admitted that they will have to use a mysterious procedural tool known as budgetary reconciliation to approve major bills with the minimum possible majority in the Senate.
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The complicated Senate process – used to approve the $ 1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan – allows Democrats to bypass the 60-vote obstruction and advance the measure using its 50 seats, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking any a tie. Without reconciliation, which can be used on certain taxes, spending and debt limit accounts, Democrats would need to secure the support of at least 10 Republicans.
There are limits on which legislation qualifies for reconciliation and how often the process can be used – and critics pointed out that Biden campaigned to unite the country and end party disputes. Democrats can only use the mechanism again before the mid-term elections in 2022
The Biden government is laying the groundwork for another huge economic aid package, with senior Democratic officials proposing up to $ 3 trillion in new spending on an employment and infrastructure bill that would become the basis of the “Build Back Better” program for Biden. Politico reported that Democrats are eager to fit what they can into the package, including new measures on drug prices and climate policy.
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“It will be a kitchen sink,” said House Budget President John Yarmuth. “Virtually everyone will want their priorities to be met through reconciliation. We will see what we accommodate.”
The next high-value economic bill could also serve as a vehicle for a bunch of tax hikes on wealthy Americans and corporations, a proposal that Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has already rejected.
“I don’t think there will be any enthusiasm on our side for a tax hike,” he said last week during the Republican Senate press conference.
Planned changes include: increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, increasing the income tax rate for individuals earning more than $ 400,000, expanding property tax, creating a capital gains tax rate higher for people earning at least $ 1 million annually and reducing tax preferences for so-called on-lending companies.
Biden acknowledged that he is unlikely to guarantee any Republican support for any kind of tax hike, but said he would receive Democratic votes, setting the stage for the party to use budgetary reconciliation again. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Was caught in a hot microphone last week telling Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg that Democrats are likely to have to use reconciliation to approve an infrastructure project.
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But there are other complications; Senator Joe Manchin, a Democratic from the center of West Virginia, has vowed to block Biden’s infrastructure project if the planned multi-trillion dollar measure does not win the support of any Republican.
“I will not do this through reconciliation,” said Manchin, DW.Va., during a recent interview with Axios. “I am not going to accept a bill that completely excludes them before we start.”
Manchin, who has become one of the most powerful members of the 50-50 Senate, said he believed it would be possible to get 10 Republicans to support an infrastructure project and reach the 60-vote limit needed to avoid an obstruction: “I sure do. ”