"House Passes $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan for Vast Expansion of Safety Net"

"Democratic leaders had to haggle their way to passage, committing to moderates that there would be a vote on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan by Sept. 27."

"WASHINGTON — A divided House on Tuesday approved a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that would pave the way for a vast expansion of social safety net and climate programs, as Democrats overcame sharp internal rifts to advance a critical piece of President Biden’s ambitious domestic agenda.

Approving the budget was a major step in Democrats’ drive to enact their top priorities — including huge investments in education, child care, health care, paid leave, and tax increases on wealthy people and corporations — over united Republican opposition. With a single vote on Tuesday, they laid the groundwork to move quickly on legislation that would accomplish those goals, setting a late September deadline for action on a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package.

But it came only after leaders stamped out a revolt among conservative-leaning Democrats, who withheld their votes until they extracted a promise to vote on the infrastructure bill by Sept. 27. The breakthrough came after a pressure campaign by the White House, outside progressive groups and Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, who haggled and cajoled her way to unanimous Democratic support for a measure that had been stalled mere hours before."

Emily Cochrane reports for the New York Times August 24, 2021.

SEE ALSO:

"House Passes $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan, Aims To Vote On Infrastructure Package By Late September" (Washington Post)

"Climate Activists Fear This Is The Last Chance To Pass Meaningful Legislation" (Washington Post)

"Infrastructure Bill Winners: Highways Conceived Decades Ago" (E&E News)

Source: NYTimes, 08/25/2021