Biden crafts new spending package aimed at attracting all Democrats

The Washington Post

The announcement is a critical moment in Biden’s tenure, and the president plans to visit Capitol Hill on Thursday morning to address House Democrats, many of whom have been distressed by the programs being jettisoned to cut the proposal’s overall cost. While many key lawmakers did not immediately weigh in on the new plan, the White House stressed Biden’s belief that it will attract the support ofall Democrats in the Senate and pass the House.
 
Biden is also expected to make public remarks touting the plan as a generational boon to Americans.
 
Taken together, the moves reflect a decision by Biden to assume ownership of the sweeping safety-net proposal in a new way. He is investing enormous political capital in his new proposal — which follows days of intensive, secretive meetings with key lawmakers — and is essentially warning any wary Democrats that they risk damaging him and the party if they do not get on board.
 
The new signature initiative would expand Medicare benefits, promote cleaner energy, offer free prekindergarten and other educational opportunities and invest heavily in social safety net programs, including tax credits and other aid that chiefly benefit low-income families. It would mark the most far-reaching social package in years.
 
The administration has proposed funding the efforts through a slew of proposals, including a new surtax targeting ultrawealthy Americans.
 
Many of the components in the retooled, sweeping blueprint originate in the proposals Biden put forward in the spring. The ideas correspond with promises the president and other party candidates made in the course of the 2020 election, when Biden ran on a refrain to “build back better.”
 
But the policy framework that White House aides unfurled Thursday is a significant departure from the roughly $3.5 trillion that the president and many top party lawmakers initially sought. Downsizing that plan forced the president to jettison some of his own priorities, including a fuller expansion of Medicare and a plan to provide paid family leave to millions of Americans.
 
Many of the cuts reflected deep ideological divides among party liberals, who sought to spend aggressively, and moderates, who repeatedly in the debate have tried to dial back Democrats’ spending. While the shrinking size, from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion, allows moderates to claim they significantly pared back the package, it also is certain to leave many liberals disappointed that they could not accomplish more.

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