Sinema says she opposes $3.5T price tag for spending bill

[Calista241]

Source: The Hill

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said Wednesday that she does not support the $3.5 trillion price tag for a sweeping spending package at the center of President Biden’s legislative agenda.

Sinema, in a statement to the Arizona Republic, said she would vote to start debate on the budget resolution, which lays the groundwork for the Democrat-only spending package, but wants changes, including to the cost of the legislation.

“I have ... made clear that while I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion — and in the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona’s everyday families get ahead,” Sinema said in a statement to the newspaper.

...

Sinema’s statement is the latest sign of the headaches awaiting Democrats as they try to craft legislation packed with some of their biggest priorities.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/565304-sinema-says-she-opposes-35t-price-tag-for-spending-bill

---

"In the coming months" Wonderful.

[Docreed2003]

1. Sigh...she is definitely a "Profile in Petulance"

Why must some people stand in the way of progress again and again? What purpose does her stunt serve other than to draw even more attention to herself?

[NCjack]

2. Good for her. That will make it easier to finally soak the rich.

[LymphocyteLover]

7. Huh? How so?

[NCjack]

16. Support now the $3.5T infrastructure bill and pay for it by a) undoing the

Trump tax cut for the rich, and b) Sen. Warren's proposals to shift more tax burden from the bottom 90% to the top 10% holders of the nation's wealth.

[LymphocyteLover]

65. well, that would be terrific if they could get that done

but will Sinema agree to THAT?

[LiberalLovinLug]

66. Have you ever seen her with or even accociated with Warren or the Squad, or Sanders?

No you don't. In fact I googled their names together and all I got was criticism against her from those reps.

There is only one explanation. She's a provocateur bad actor. She's a Trojan Horse. She is probably being compensated for it, or has future income reliant on how much damage she can do to the Democratic party while she can. She's probably a psychopath.

If there is no way to rid the party of her for three years, folks have to make her life as miserable as possible. Calling her out, protesting, boycotting whatever corps are paying for this subterfuge.

[DURHAM D]

3. Actually, no one is paying attention to her juvenile outbursts. nt

[regnaD kciN]

4. It really pisses me off...

...when I think of how much work people here did to put her in office, only to have her stab us and her party in the back.

[abqtommy]

5. Maybe Sinema should change her affiliation to R since they never worry about the national

debt when they're in power.

[WHITT]

6. Fine

When some infrastructure bill passes, NO infrastructure funds for Arizona. Simply can't afford it with a stripped-down bill.

She can go home and explain to her constituents WHY she blocked the larger bill, and WHY their state isn't getting any infrastructure funds.

[AZ8theist]

27. She doesn't have to explain ANYTHING to this constituent...

Her stand on the filibuster is all the explanation I need.

She's a fucking CIRCUS CLOWN and I am putting all my money and time into her primary opponent, whoever that my be...

[True Blue American]

35. Is that her on the Senate floor in a red sun dress and a boot on one leg?

[LymphocyteLover]

8. $3.5T is a small price to pay to save our planet from the climate crisis

Also I'm sure it's over 10 years and $350B a year is very doable and necessary.

[rickford66]

9. Biden has to do an LBJ.

[elleng]

12. As in, look her in the eye, sternly???

[rickford66]

13. Was that how LBJ twisted arms ?

Better go reread some history.

[elleng]

14. That was the first image that popped into my head;

I was around, at the time.

*Dirksen had promised Kennedy that he would allow a floor vote on the bill, but when it actually arrived in the Senate, he balked. He wanted changes that would have weakened the public accommodations and fair employment sections. But Johnson refused to compromise.

“Now you know that this bill can’t pass unless you get Ev Dirksen,” Johnson told Sen. Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, the bill’s floor leader. “You and I are going to get Ev…You get in there to see Dirksen! You drink with Dirksen! You talk to Dirksen! You listen to Dirksen!”

Humphrey went on Meet the Press, where he praised Dirksen’s statesmanship: “He is a man who thinks of his country before he thinks of his party…and I sincerely believe that when Senator Dirksen has to face the moment of decision where his influence and where his leadership will be required to give us the votes that are necessary to pass this bill, he will not be found wanting.”

Johnson reminded Dirksen that not only did he lead the Party of Lincoln, he represented Lincoln’s home state. Throughout the filibuster, the Capitol was thronged with clergymen, lobbying senators to vote for civil rights. Finally, Dirksen gave in. Johnson allowed him to add a few innocuous amendments, to look as though he’d contributed to the bill. But Dirksen also realized he could not stand in the way of “an idea whose time as come,” as he would tell reporters. As Caro writes:

Dirksen agreed that the time for cloture had arrived. When Johnson telephoned him, the Republican leader said he had told [Georgia Sen. Richard] Russell that morning, “Dick…I think we’ve gone far enough.” He promised to Johnson, “We’ll…see what we can do about procedure to get this thing on the road and buttoned up.”
“You’re worthy of the ‘Land of Lincoln,’” Johnson said. “And the man from Illinois is going to pass the bill, and I’ll see that you get proper attention and credit.”

The cloture motion was approved, 71-29, with 27 of Dirksen’s Republicans voting in favor. It’s been said that the Civil Rights bill completed the work of Abraham Lincoln, but it couldn’t have passed without the support of a Senator from the Land of Lincoln.'

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/how-lbj-twisted-dirksens-arm/1927514/

[rickford66]

17. LBJ privately got his way.

"Nice career ya got there. Shame if sometin' happened to it" in a nice polite Texas drawl. He knew where the bodies were buried and I expect Biden knows also.

[NYC Liberal]

29. Johnson had 68 Democrats in the Senate and 258 in the House.

And that's not including the moderate Republicans who no longer exist.

Pretty easy to make threats when you have those numbers.

[rickford66]

30. Many of those Dems were DINO's

LBJ needed some GOP votes

[NYC Liberal]

51. Exactly. And he had them.

Biden has a tied Senate and zero Republican votes.

[The Mouth]

34. A lot of those "Democrats" were pretty damned conservative

Lots of changes since Nixon's 'Southern Strategy'. In the 1960's, sad to say, there were a lot of segregationist and otherwise really backwards Democrats. We've evolved.

[IronLionZion]

42. Lots of Southern dixiecrats opposed his policies

especially on civil rights

[NYC Liberal]

52. And lots of Republicans supported his policies on civil rights.

83% of them voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Biden does not have any Republican votes in the Senate. He doesn't have the leeway to make "threats" like Johnson did.

[Polybius]

60. They'd go right to the AP with that if a President did that today

Or answer, "Go f yourself, I think I'll switch Party's now."

[True Blue American]

37. LBJ backed you against the wall, stuck his finger in tpyour face and told you, you better!!!:)

[LenaBaby61]

21. "Biden has to do an LBJ."

That's not Pres. Biden's way.

[PoliticAverse]

33. Had his chance yesterday....

Sinema meets with Biden as senators hammer out infrastructure disputes
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sinema-meet-biden-infrastructure-negotiations-continue-n1275170

[onecaliberal]

10. The pathetic excuse for an elected official should be removed for lying to people

to get them to support her. She's interested in being in the news and blocking all of the things we fucking ran on. What the fuck is wrong with people?

[manicdem]

58. R would take her place

If she was removed, then the Republican Governor would replace her with a R. Don't think you want that.

[onecaliberal]

59. We have THAT now. It just pretends not to be.

[Dream Girl]

11. She really fancies herself as a "power player" I can't wait see her ass gone.

[aggiesal]

15. Maybe she should work on raising taxes on the wealthy over $500K ...

to help pay for this $3.5T bill, that way working class doesn't have to front the majority of this expense!

[lakercub]

18. Statements like this are lazy

She says 3.5T is too much. But, as usual in a case like this, there is no mention of why this is too much or what would be an acceptable amount. It's easy to say something is too much, but the real work is to point out where one thinks the waste or overspending is and to calculate an acceptable amount (and then justify why that is the acceptable amount). But, rather than sharpen pencils and go through it to figure out where money could be saved, too many politicians (some D's and almost all R's) just yell "too expensive!" and then go on their way without actually doing any work.

[NJCher]

61. she might even get a little respect

if she did such a thing: "point out where one thinks the waste or overspending is and to calculate an acceptable amount (and then justify why that is the acceptable amount)."

If she has done the work, she needs to communicate that she's done the evaluation by being specific. She doesn't have to spell it out orally in a press conference, but she needs to announce her broad points and then have the specific points laid out on paper which should be distributed at the press conference.

She wrote an op-ed that is indicative of her reasoning powers awhile back--it's hardly convincing that she is sharp enough to evaluate this sort of thing.

[Historic NY]

19. She will be in for a world of hurt if she fucks this up

People will harangue her forever.

[durablend]

20. Just doing Mitch's dirty work....

[vercetti2021]

22. I hope we can find someone to primary her

Mark Kelly gives a shit about his constituents. Sinema obvious is so goddamn full of herself. I hope we can find a high qualified democrat and by that. An actual fucking democrat!

[monkeyman1]

23. republican in democrats clothing's!!

[vercetti2021]

24. Green

That's what she was prior to running as a Dem. Green is literally the turd in the punch bowl for Dem's.

[marble falls]

25. I wish she'd realize who elected her and to what party she supposedly belongs.

[LenaBaby61]

63. I wish she'd realize who elected her and to what party she supposedly belongs.

Miss Thang doesn't CARE about any of that. She's only in it for herself.

In times like this, I keep hearing something my late grandmother used to tell me when she was alive years ago (She'd be 140 years old if she was alive today), and I'm sure you've heard this:

"What goes around always comes BACK around." I think of this when I think of anything which happens that's particularly VILE, DISGUSTING & FILTHY, like the situation where most in the GQP are going along with tRaitor tRump and the attack on our democracy, when I think of that racist, evil, fascistic, sociopath tRaitor tRump and his crime-riddled, a moral family, or think about the man whose name I cannot mention from West Virginia, about the racist, Capitol Hill secessionists tRump cultists who tried to stop certification of a fair election result, or when I think of what keeps happening where African-Americans keep getting murdered by racist, rogue police officers like George Floyd was by that piece of crap, racist, murdering pig Chauvin--just because Floyd was black etc.

Yes, what goes around .......

[StClone]

26. She's no Democrat. She somehow faked her political ideas

And at this critical juncture the mask comes off and her handler's face appears: It is that of real Estate, wallstreet, student loan companies...

[Midnight Writer]

28. She's fishing for lots of spending in AZ. No problem, I'm sure they need it.

[Withywindle]

62. That's why it's so stupid for her to be doing this

Arizona needs a lot of infrastructure work! If this bill passed, there'd be lots of employment and improvements in AZ!


Not that I'm an expert in AZ but I know they had terrible floods there recently, and have a lot of aging roads and bridges that people have been complaining about for years. Like every state.

3.5T sounds like a huge amount of money, but it's only about 2 years of the annual military budget, most of which never benefits any average person in any palpable way.

[Deminpenn]

31. Remember, it's 3.5T over 8 or 10 years,

not all in 1 big chunk.

It's more like 350B/yr over 10 years or 450B/yr over 8 yrs.

For comparison, DoD's FY21 budget was 703.7B. The FY22 (starting 1 Oct 2021) budget is 715B.

[yaesu]

32. In ominous sign for Dems

Hugo Lowell
@hugolowell
·
1h
In ominous sign for Dems, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he’s pleased that Sinema won’t support $3.5 trillion infrastructure budget resolution: “I was certainly pleased. She is very courageous.”

@hugolowell
New: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he will vote to proceed on the bipartisan infrastructure deal — though interestingly after Sinema expressed doubts about $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill

Does this mean Mcturtle is more Dem than Sinema? scary thought.

[AllyCat]

36. Why does she not want to do things that help people?

No one's taxes are going up except the rich. What is her rationale to oppose this?

[whistler162]

38. So we wait a couple of years

and the price tag will only be 10 trillion.

[WHITT]

39. What's Her Problem?

The $3.5T reconciliation package is PAID FOR, unlike the bogus 'bipartisan proposal' that she supports, which is NOT PAID FOR, and is full of typical Repub 'Smoke & Mirrors'.

[turbinetree]

40. I need a drink........JFC

What are your number's Sinema...this is not just about Arizona........JFC....how much do you get every year to do this....

[tenderfoot]

41. CINEMA

Look at me! Look at me!

[Joinfortmill]

43. Sigh.

[LiberalFighter]

44. She needs to be educated.

$3.5 billion might be a lot 10 or 20 years ago. But not necessarily now. Especially with what is needed now.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

45. With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Manchin and Sinema are proving themselves to be the Republicans' best weapons againt Bide agenda. They also demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the historical junction we find ourselves in. We can either go backward and end up with a result that doesn't even cover the costs of repairing the infrastructure to its original piss-poor condition, it doesn't advance the country in developing into a world class leader in communication, transportation, education and making the country a desirable place to live, like most other advanced countries. When they dream -- if they dream at all -- they are limited by their fears.

Of course, having a base salary of $174,000 makes it hard to imagine what life is like for a single parent family where the parent has to work two jobs just to provide food and shelter for their children.

It's the economy, stupid! It worked for Bill Clinton, and I think we ignore that mantra at our peril.

[Lars39]

46. We need team players at this point in history

I’ve come to despise these weak as water people who are only out for the money and attention

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

47. AOC on Sinema blocking $3.5 tril infrastructure bill: 'Good luck tanking your own party's investment

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took aim at Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, a fellow Democrat, after Sinema came out against her party's $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill.

Sinema told the Arizona Republic in a statement that she thinks the bill is too costly, and "will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona's economy and help Arizona's everyday families get ahead."

Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to call out the Arizona Democrat, writing: "Good luck tanking your own party's investment on childcare, climate action, and infrastructure while presuming you'll survive a 3 vote House margin - especially after choosing to exclude members of color from negotiations and calling that a 'bipartisan accomplishment.'"

Ocasio-Cortez previously criticized the lack of diversity in the bipartisan group, arguing that it leaves marginalized communities behind.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/aoc-on-sinema-blocking-dollar35-trillion-infrastructure-bill-good-luck-tanking-your-own-partys-investment/ar-AAMFyX1

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

48. Mark Kelly, Echoing Krysten Sinema, Concerned Over Biden's Infrastructure Price Tag

Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Krysten Sinema both expressed a measure of reluctance to support the cost of the Biden administration's $3.5 trillion budget resolution bill, which aims to fund new infrastructure measures, while at the same time saying they support moving the process forward.

The Democratic senators both made comments on Wednesday that suggested support for much of the agenda of the plan, which included President Joe Biden's "human infrastructure" agenda, like expanding Medicare, paid family leave, funding universal pre-school and paying for climate change initiatives, but not the high price tag many Democrats believe it will actually cost.

Sinema told Senate leadership and Biden on Wednesday she supports goals like job growth and American competitiveness. "I have also made clear that while I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion—and in the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona's economy and help Arizona's everyday families get ahead," she said later in the day in a written statement.

Kelly echoed Sinema's sentiments without going quite as far, when he said Wednesday that although he does plan to vote to advance a budget resolution, he does have concerns about the $3.5 trillion price tag. "I want to see it paid for," he said. "But I want to see this process move forward."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mark-kelly-echoing-krysten-sinema-concerned-over-bidens-infrastructure-price-tag/ar-AAMFT8o

[Deminpenn]

49. Bet they both support DoD's 3/4B yearly budget

though.

[WhoWoodaKnew]

50. We're gonna look back on this and realize she saved our ass...

...probably in the next few elections.

[Jon King]

53. Doubtful, the people want it.

A study came out today that shows it will not cause inflation and be a huge long term economic benefit. Easy to control the narrative on inflation if Dems are persistent on it. The elections will certainly not be lost by passing it. The elections could be lost due to Repug legislatures overturning the results.

Passing it would be a new benefit for Dems in 2022 and 2024.

[TiberiusB]

56. Democrats are in deep trouble in the next election, much less any after that

Biden is paralyzed and can't get anything done. His nonsense about needing to protect the filibuster virtually guarantees he will spend the rest of his term as a lame duck. Manchin, Sinema, and the blue dog trash are tanking progressive legislation in favor of more corporate welfare and protecting the status quo. The bipartisan bill was always the goal so Republicans can boast they got money for their districts against the opposition of the Socialist radical Left. They know people will barely register that they are being forced to pay for it by selling off public roads, bridges, etc. to private interests that will gouge tax payers for the foreseeable future. Then the Blue Dogs turn on their party (as Sinema is now) and thwart any effort to pass effective legislation for the public. Dark money is protected and the slide into autocracy continues unabated.

[Mr. Evil]

54. I'm thinking she's just a republican plant.

She's only there to get noticed, say no and act like a 16 year old hanging out at the mall.

[totodeinhere]

55. Of course she opposes it. She is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

But we have to humor her to some extent. Without her vote in organizational matters we would lose control of the Senate.

[LudwigPastorius]

57. We really need to elect a couple of extra Democratic Senators to make...

Thumbelina and her dramatic votes superfluous.

[LenaBaby61]

64. THIS 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻

[nykym]

67. Can't the Dems

recall her?