Dems tackle tax, climate, health, other flashpoints

WASHINGTON — Revamp the tax code and important federal health care and environment programs. Spend $3.5 trillion over 10 years, but maybe a lot less. Ensure no more than three Democrats in all of Congress vote “no” because Republicans will be unanimously opposed.

Try to finish within the next couple of weeks. And oh yes: Failure means President Joe Biden’s own party will have repudiated him on the cornerstone of his domestic agenda.

That’s what congressional Democrats face as they try writing a final version of a massive bill bolstering the social safety net and strengthening efforts to tame climate change. Here’s a guide to some pivotal differences they must resolve:

Price tag

The White House and top Democrats compromised on a $3.5 trillion, 10-year cost for the bill. That’s a huge sum, though a fraction of the $61 trillion in federal spending already slated over that period.

Moderates led by Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have said $3.5 trillion is too expensive, and votes from every Democrat in the 50-50 Senate are mandatory for success. Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have recently acknowledged what seems inevitable: The final cost may have to drop.

Taxes

To pay for much of the bill, the House Ways and Means Committee approved $2.1 trillion in tax boosts, mostly on the rich and corporations. Some details and numbers seem likely to change.

Biden, who’s promised to not increase taxes on people earning under $400,000, will probably get his proposal to raise the top individual income tax rate on the richest Americans to 39.6 percent. That would be up from 37 percent approved under former President Donald Trump.

But Democrats also want to raise other levies on the wealthiest. It’s unclear which proposals will survive and in what form.

Medicare

Three moderate Democrats blocked a House committee from approving a top priority for Biden and progressives: saving hundreds of billions by letting Medicare negotiate lower prices for pharmaceuticals it buys. Another committee approved the language, so it’s not dead.

Still, the plan is opposed by drug manufacturers, and some moderates want to water it down.

Other priorities

The House has proposed grants for power companies that move toward renewable fuels and fines on those that don’t. Manchin has said he opposes that.

The House has proposed a plan for mandatory family leave that’s significantly costlier than what Senate Democrats envision. And lawmakers await a decision from the Senate parliamentarian on whether language helping millions of immigrants remain in the U.S. violates budget rules and must be omitted.

Timing

Last month, Pelosi said the House would consider a $1 trillion bill financing infrastructure projects by Sept. 27.

Progressives have threatened to vote against that bill unless moderates support the $3.5 trillion package.

With so many loose ends, it seems highly unlikely the $3.5 trillion measure will be finished then.