Paid leave, immigration, tax changes added to Biden bill
WASHINGTON — House Democrats added a new paid family leave program, immigrant work permits and a state-and-local tax break to President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social services and environmental bill Wednesday, reviving key priorities in the rush to finish up and start voting after dismal election results.
The House Rules Committee convened Wednesday to consider the updated text of the now-sprawling 2,135-page package — a crucial step ahead of initial House votes that are possible as soon as Thursday.
The flurry of last-minute additions — on top of a plan to include lower Medicare prescription drug prices — comes as Democrats are desperate to deliver on Biden’s signature domestic proposals after grim election results for the party in Virginia, a warning that their grip on power could be in peril in next year’s midterms.
Most voters in Virginia said drawn-out negotiations in Washington over Biden’s governing agenda were a factor in their vote, so blame was flowing to Capitol Hill as Democrats have spent months arguing over details of the package.
“We’ve got to produce,” Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia told reporters at the Capitol. “We’ve got to get results for people.”
Democrats have been working to shelve their differences, particularly with holdout Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and launch votes on Biden’s bill and a related $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package that has stalled.
The family leave provision Manchin had resisted earlier is expected to include four weeks of paid time off for childbirth, recovery from major illness or caring for family members, less than the 12-week program once envisioned, but all fully paid for with revenue elsewhere.
Biden had reluctantly dropped a scaled-back paid leave proposal from last week’s White House framework after Manchin balked at the cost. But Democrats who lobbied that paid leave has been a party priority for decades continued to push it.Rep. Richard Neal,
D-Mass., chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said the paid leave program came together after talks early Wednesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
On another issue, the Democrats compromised on a plan partly to do away with the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions that particularly hits New York, California and other high-tax states and was enacted as part of the Trump-era 2017 tax plan.
While repeal of the so-called SALT deduction cap is a priority for several northeastern state lawmakers, progressives wanted to prevent the super-wealthy from benefiting. Under the plan, the $10,000 deduction cap would be lifted to $72,500 for 10 years, starting with the 2021 tax year.
And the just-added immigration provision would create a new program for some 7 million immigrants who are in the country without legal standing, allowing them to apply for permits to work and travel in the U.S. for five years. It would also allow the government to tap unused visas to admit people into the U.S.
Resolving the immigration issue was among the last daunting challenges to finishing up the draft of Biden’s package. Biden had set aside $100 billion to fund the immigration changes, which could bolster the overall package from $1.75 trillion to $1.85 trillion if the provision is accepted by the Senate. Lawmakers plan to make their case to Senate parliamentarian in coming days, hopeful the changes will pass muster under Senate rules because they build on existing programs, those involved said.
“We have to have something for our immigrants,” Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said.
Both the paid family leave and the immigration law changes have drawn resistance from Manchin, whose support remains crucial in the 50-50 Senate, where Biden has no votes to spare. The overall bill faces united opposition from Republicans.
Pelosi in a letter to colleagues Wednesday acknowledged opposition to the House’s approach from a single senator, a reference to Manchin. But Pelosi’s strategy now seems intent on passing the most robust bill possible in her chamber and then leaving the Senate to adjust or strip out the portions they won’t agree to.
“We must strive to find common ground in the legislation,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues.