A Happy Jayapal: Biden Fully Endorsed Two-Track Plan

[bluewater]

A Happy Jayapal: Biden Fully Endorsed Two-Track Plan

Jayapal told reporters after the meeting with President Biden that he fully endorsed keeping the bipartisan infrastructure plan and reconciliation package linked.

“Look, he said ‘I support the BIF entirely and if I could do it right now I would, but we need to get this reconciliation bill and you know it’s gonna be tough, like we’re gonna have to come down in our number and we’re gonna have to do that work,'” she said.

“The President said we’re gonna get both bills done and in order to get BIF done, we have to get this agreement on the reconciliation bill,” she added.

Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) told reporters that he feels “great” after the meeting with Biden, adding that the progressive message all along has been to uphold Biden’s plan. He said that the President did not push for a BIF vote today or over the weekend, but did warn the group that they’d likely have to come down from $3.5 trillion on reconciliation.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/live-blog/bidens-two-track-infrastructure-plan-is-back-on-track

KATE RIGA 5:09 p.m.

Excellent.

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. Jayapal is the unsung hero in this story

Keeping her caucus unified, supporting Biden’s entire agenda, working with Pelosi, and maintaining her resolve in the face of a harsh media narrative fomented by the cowardly saboteurs.

[Mme. Defarge]

3. Haven't really appreciated her

until now.

Eyes on the prize!!!

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. And her messaging, and even her presence, has been superb

She stays positive, she comes across as determined but never strident. She makes sure that all understand the importance of the issues involved rather than fixate on any specific dollar figure

[WHITT]

6. Plus

she jujitsued the issue, so instead of blocking the BIF, she said the House Progressive Caucus was supporting Biden's FULL agenda.

Smart.

[Mme. Defarge]

2. Phew!!!

BUT I CAN’T STAND THE SUSPENSE!!!

[Calista241]

5. The million dollar question is will they have the votes for a 1.5t reconciliation bill.

I hoping for yes, but i'm scared of a no.

[BlueIdaho]

7. No high fiving until both bills are signed into law.

Progressives wanted them linked, let’s hope they can get them across the finish line.

[Celerity]

8. $1.5 trillion? That is almost 60% of the Biden agenda ripped out. That would mean, when combined

with the almost 80% of the new spend that already has been ripped out of the bi-partisan bill by Manchin and Sinema and the Rethugs, that Biden is only going to walk away with $2 trillion total, out of $6.1 trillion new spend, from his original bills.

$1.5 for reconciliation will mean the absolute gutting of giant parts of his human infrastructure plans.

$135 billion for the Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry. Funding to be used to address forest fires, reduce carbon emissions, and address drought concerns.

$332 billion for the Banking Committee. Including investments in public housing, the Housing Trust Fund, housing affordability, and equity and community land trusts.

$198 billion for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This would develop clean energy. (and remember, almost all environmental spend and tax credits were already gutted from the bi-partisan bill, as I have already shown)

$67 billion for the Environment and Public Works Committee. These monies would fund low-income solar and other climate-friendly technologies.

$1.8 trillion for the Finance Committee. This part of the bill is for investments in working families, the elderly, and the environment. It includes a tax cut for Americans making less than $400,000 a year, lowering the price of prescription drugs, and ensuring the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes. (this is prime funding here, and Manchinema want mass cuts here, which blows it up)

$726 billion for the Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions Committee. This addresses universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds, childcare for working families, tuition-free community college, funding for historically black colleges and universities, and an expansion of the Pell Grant for higher education.

$37 billion for the HSGAC Committee. This would electrify the federal vehicle fleet, electrify and rehab federal buildings, improve cybersecurity infrastructure, reinforce border management, invest in green-materials procurement, and invest in resilience. (agin most all was guttend from the other bill already)

$107 billion for the Judiciary Committee. These funds address establishing "lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants."

$20.5 billion for the Indian Affairs Committee. This addresses Native American health programs and facilities, education programs and facilities, housing programs, energy programs, resilience and climate programs, BIA programs and facilities, Native language programs, and the Native Civilian Climate Corps.

$25 billion for the Small Business Committee. This provides for small business access to credit, investment, and markets.

$18 billion for the Veterans Affairs Committee. This funds upgrades to veteran facilities.

$83 billion for the Commerce Committee. This goes to investments in technology, transportation, research, manufacturing, and economic development. It provides funding for coastal resiliency, healthy oceans investments, including the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund and the National Science Foundation research and technology directorate.

Say bye bye to around 60% of that.


we already said bye bye to 80% of the bi-partisan bill

The Infrastructure Plan: What’s In and What’s Out (it's brutal)

Biden's original plan:





What was left after they took a 2 trillion USD hatchet to it





The total new spending on Biden's original 2 bill proposals (hard and human) was $6.1 trillion, now you are looking at a total new spend for both bills of only $2.05 trillion. $4 trillion ripped out

That is a massive 2/3rds total reduction in new spending when both bills are tallied up, and the huge majority will be from the parts that the vast majority of ALL Dems, Biden included, all desperately want, campaigned on, and are running adverts for as we speak, especially things to address climate change and to help working class Americans.

IF that is all we end up with, ie. close to 70% of Biden's agenda in the bin, (and in the bin DESPITE our controlling all 3 parts, the Senate, the House, and POTUS), 2022 looms even more ominously.

[ancianita]

10. Put it that way, it's definitely a blow. But we go into 2022, win, roll this all out again, win

in 2024.

Point taken, this is a huge chisel. But this vote is better than 100% of nothing. This will be felt, seen and make a difference like the vaccines did, only better. Better is good. We can pull a 2018 midterm with this.

[Celerity]

12. from the OP article: Biden threw out $2.2 trillion during the caucus meeting (as a figure for the

total for the reconciliation bill)

Wish he had went for $2.5 trillion, as that is exactly halfway between Manchin's 1.5 trillion, and Biden's 3.5 trillion. He already singed off on Manchin and Sinema gutting 2 trillion usd from the hard infrastructure bi-partisan bill.

Now, that said, IF they shorten the duration on some of the programmes from 10 down to 5 years, the spend per year can be close to the same, which would be a big win.

[bluewater]

15. Shortening some programs to 5 years but keeping spending level per year the same would be a big win

"Now, that said, IF they shorten the duration on some of the programmes from 10 down to 5 years, the spend per year can be close to the same, which would be a big win."

I absolutely agree.

Pardon the paraphrase in the title.

[ancianita]

19. Thanks.

I hadn't considered the spending shift to 5 years; that's an excellent point. This will connect to the 2022 vote, I believe. From what I can tell these days, through it's taken time, the growing youth vote hate neoliberalism, hate how the right has spent their money, based on messaging that's unfounded, weak because it comes from a racist, sexist, violent place.

Biden impresses them. I believe the youth vote now trust he's a negotiator who'll persist in good spending.

[Celerity]

20. seems like they are talking about 10 down to 6 years now

[reACTIONary]

13. What's his name said he wouldn't go over 1.5, but...

... that doesn't mean he won't. Maybe that was a low ball opening offer.

[Celerity]

21. Manchinema already helped strip out almost 80% of the $2.6 trillion new spend in Biden's

hard infrastructure bill (it ended up with only $550 billion in new spend)

like hell if they are going to get away with stripping out almost 60% in the reconciliation bill too

[quakerboy]

18. The problem is that if we roll with too little

It wont be enough to get the job done. So then we are staring at republicans and the media blaming us for a giant price tag and yet still not actually managing to accomplish anything voters can sink their teeth into, despite spending so much.

It really doesn't matter the specific number when it comes with a "trillion" after it, thats a big number for news soundbite purposes.

My guess is that, on the political consequence side probably better to let a big bill fail completely than to pass a too small compromise.

[Fiendish Thingy]

14. I think reconciliation will end up being $2 point-something trillion, which is still significant

The $6 trillion you mention was not ever proposed by Biden, only floated briefly by Sanders IIRC.

Rather than eliminating entire programs to reach a Manchin-approved figure, I hope they seriously consider fully funding all programs, but for a shorter, 7-8 year timeline. It will be much tougher to cut the programs once they are established. Guarantee subsidies for renewables by Placating Manchin with some sort of continuation of fossil fuel subsidies- if the bill expires sooner, so will the FF subsidies.

If all the proposed programs are included in a $2 point-something trillion bill, it will still be historic and a game changer, both politically for Dems as well as for the quality of life for millions of Americans.

[Celerity]

17. No, you are incorect on this:

The $6 trillion you mention was not ever proposed by Biden, only floated briefly by Sanders IIRC.

Incorrect.

The $6.1 trillion for both bills total is Biden's original totals, NOT Sanders'. Sanders wanted $6 trillion on human, and $4 trillion on hard. He met with Biden months ago, and came way down to Biden's numbers ($3.5 trillion on human, and $2.6 trillion new spend on hard) and Sander's agreed to go bi-partisan route for hard infrastructure. Bidens hard infrastructure 2.6 trillion was $2.2 trillion new spend, and $400 billion in clean energy tax credits) see the pie charts below


I just posted (a reply above) all the exact details for Biden's $6.1 trillion totals.

here they (BIDEN's original totals adding ip to $6.1 trillion) are again



Here is a detailed list of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation spend that BIDEN came up with.

$135 billion for the Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry. Funding to be used to address forest fires, reduce carbon emissions, and address drought concerns.

$332 billion for the Banking Committee. Including investments in public housing, the Housing Trust Fund, housing affordability, and equity and community land trusts.

$198 billion for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This would develop clean energy. (and remember, almost all environmental spend and tax credits were already gutted from the bi-partisan bill, as I have already shown)

$67 billion for the Environment and Public Works Committee. These monies would fund low-income solar and other climate-friendly technologies.

$1.8 trillion for the Finance Committee. This part of the bill is for investments in working families, the elderly, and the environment. It includes a tax cut for Americans making less than $400,000 a year, lowering the price of prescription drugs, and ensuring the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes. (this is prime funding here, and Manchinema want mass cuts here, which blows it up)

$726 billion for the Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions Committee. This addresses universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds, childcare for working families, tuition-free community college, funding for historically black colleges and universities, and an expansion of the Pell Grant for higher education.

$37 billion for the HSGAC Committee. This would electrify the federal vehicle fleet, electrify and rehab federal buildings, improve cybersecurity infrastructure, reinforce border management, invest in green-materials procurement, and invest in resilience. (agin most all was guttend from the other bill already)

$107 billion for the Judiciary Committee. These funds address establishing "lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants."

$20.5 billion for the Indian Affairs Committee. This addresses Native American health programs and facilities, education programs and facilities, housing programs, energy programs, resilience and climate programs, BIA programs and facilities, Native language programs, and the Native Civilian Climate Corps.

$25 billion for the Small Business Committee. This provides for small business access to credit, investment, and markets.

$18 billion for the Veterans Affairs Committee. This funds upgrades to veteran facilities.

$83 billion for the Commerce Committee. This goes to investments in technology, transportation, research, manufacturing, and economic development. It provides funding for coastal resiliency, healthy oceans investments, including the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund and the National Science Foundation research and technology directorate.

Here is the original $2.6 trillion in new spend for hard infrastructure that BIDEN came up with

The Infrastructure Plan: What’s In and What’s Out (it's brutal)

Biden's original plan:

What was left after they (Manchin, Sinema and the Rethugs) took a 2 trillion USD hatchet to it

The final bi-partisan total bill price ($1.2 trillion) includes $550 billion in NEW spend left from the original Biden proposal of $2.6 trillion, and then $650 billion in run of the mill simple pre-existing (going back years) programmes' renewal, mostly for transportation/highways.

[BradAllison]

9. She's been fantastic. n/m

[Hortensis]

11. Pelosi initially insisted both bills be passed together, that

she would not allow the bipartisan bill to be passed out of the house alone, for obvious reasons. Whatever supposedly changed that happened during one of my tired-of-the-news periods. But I didn't go read about it because I'm absolutely sure Pelosi never changed her commitment to passing both bills with as much of the larger one intact as possible.

[Etherealoc1]

16. Biden should have pressed

the urgency because they now have the momentum.
Allow it to fester, Manchin and Sinema will find a way to delay and make up more BS excuses.