House passes $3.5 trillion budget plan
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 Joe 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 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.
The vote was 220-212 on party lines to approve the budget plan and allow future votes on both the infrastructure bill and a voting-rights measure that the House passed soon after.
Although the budget plan, which passed the Senate this month, does not have the force of law, it allows Democrats to move forward with a fast-track process known as reconciliation. That would enshrine the details of the blueprint in legislation that is shielded from a filibuster, allowing it to pass over the objections of Republicans.
It is expected to include universal preschool, paid family leave, federal support for child care and elder care, an expansion of Medicare and a broad effort to tackle climate change — all paid for through tax increases on high earners and companies.
“Today is a great day of pride for our country and for Democrats,” Pelosi declared on the House floor, after days of intensive talks with rank-and-file lawmakers. “Not only are we building the physical infrastructure of America, we are building the human infrastructure of America to enable many more people to participate in the success of our economy and the growth of our society.”
Speaking at the White House shortly after, Biden called Pelosi “masterful” and lavished praise on the party’s leadership team and every congressional Democrat who ultimately supported the legislation.
“There were differences, strong points of view — they’re always welcome,” Biden said. “What is important is that we came together to advance our agenda.”
But the herculean effort it took to do so only served to illustrate the difficult road ahead for Biden’s agenda on Capitol Hill, where Democrats’ small majorities and ideological divisions — as well as Republican opposition — have left the party with little room to maneuver.