Paid Family Leave Excluded from Biden's Bill
Biden will travel to Capitol Hill to urge Democrats to conclude negotiations and bring the social services and climate change bills at the heart of his domestic initiative "over the finish line."
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US President Joe Biden
Top US Democrats indicated that a deal on President Joe Biden's major domestic bill is close, however, tempers flared late Wednesday as a paid family leave proposal fell out and a billionaires' tax appeared to be scrapped, ostensibly to appease a pivotal member of the 50-50 Senate.
Biden will travel to Capitol Hill on Thursday morning to urge Democratic lawmakers to get the social services and climate change bills "over the finish line" before departing for global summits abroad.
Expansion of health-care programs, free pre-kindergarten, and $500 billion to combat climate change are still included in what is now at least a $1.75 trillion package.
According to a source who requested anonymity to discuss the private talks, Democrats are considering a new surcharge on the wealthy — 5% on incomes above $10 million and an additional 3% on incomes above $25 million — to help pay for it.
“They’re all within our reach. Let’s bring these bills over the finish line,” Biden tweeted late Wednesday.
Universal preschool.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 27, 2021
Historic climate investments.
Lower health care costs.
They’re all within our reach. Let’s bring these bills over the finish line.
A source familiar with the plans told The Associated Press that Biden will address the House Democratic Caucus on Thursday morning. Aside from pressing for important party priorities, the president hoped to demonstrate to foreign leaders that the United States was getting things done under his administration.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration was assessing the situation "hour by hour."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that Democrats were in "pretty good shape" at the start of a fast-paced day in Capitol Hill. But hopes quickly faded as Biden's massive proposal met with a slew of new roadblocks, the most serious of which was determining how to pay for it all.
What do you need to know?
The US stands on a financial edge with a crisis that could bring the country to a “historic and catastrophic default.”
This description is not some poetic journalist’s rendition of the possible outcome of the situation, but rather that of US President Joe Biden’s who is facing one of the toughest challenges of his presidency so far.
