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Democrats pushed a $3.5 trillion, 10-year bill strengthening social safety net and climate programs through t

WASHINGTON • The House Budget Committee advanced a draft version of President Joe Biden’s signature tax and social spending measure, a milestone ahead of possible votes on the floor of the chamber next week.

Lawmakers voted 20-17 in a mostly party-line ballot to move the bill forward during a rare weekend meeting.

Congressional Democrats are using a fast-track budget process to ram the up-to-$3.5 trillion economic package through the Senate, bypassing Republicans. As part of the process, the Budget Committee must assemble the 13 component parts of the bill reported out of policy committees this month, and send the 2,465-page bill to the Rules Committee — the last step before a floor vote.

Scott Peters of California, a moderate Democrat, voted against pushing the bill to the next step after saying he objects to some provisions and believes the process is rushed. Peters opposed the drug price negotiation provisions in the bill.

“I think it needs more work,” he said.

While the session is a procedural step, it then turned to attempts by lawmakers to add nonbinding amendments to the bill — providing a showcase for concerted Republican opposition and potential insight into some Democrats’ views on the draft.

The effort to keep the bill moving comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are trying to project momentum for the Biden agenda amid deep Democratic rifts and falling poll numbers for the president. It remains to be seen if the package will be brought to a floor vote in the House anytime soon, given that four dissenting Democratic members could sink it in face of united GOP opposition.

Party leaders scheduled a meeting of all House Democrats for Monday at 5:30 p.m., as they struggle to unite the party on the economic package and a separate Biden-backed infrastructure bill that’s supposed to come to the House floor on Monday.

“The next few days will be a time of intensity,” Pelosi said in a letter to her Democratic caucus on Saturday.

The economic package would raise $2.1 trillion in revenue through measures including tax increases on corporations, the wealthy and tobacco users. That would help pay for a bevy of social programs including universal paid family leave and pre-school and free community college, along with new Medicare dental, vision and hearing benefits.

Democrats remain especially divided on the Medicare piece and whether to focus funds on expanding Medicaid, as well as on a proposal to regulate drug prices.

Missing from the draft is any change to the cap on federal deductions of state and local taxes, which some lawmakers say must be in the bill in order for it to pass the House.

The Budget Committee’s role involves combining legislation from 13 other committees into one bill. No substantive changes can be made. That will come later in the process either in the Rules Committee next week or from Democratic leaders on the floor.

“All we will be doing is essentially transmitting — voting to transmit — those 13 bills as one to the Rules Committee. And the Republicans — or Democrats if they want — could offer motions to instruct certain votes, but they’re nonbinding,” Chair John Yarmuth of Kentucky said.

Each GOP member of the Budget Committee plans to offer at least one motion, touching on broad complaints about the Democrats’ approach, Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, the panel’s top Republican, said in an interview.

“It’ll be a long markup,” he said.

DAILY ROUNDUP

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2021-09-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/281840056818043

The Gazette, Colorado Springs