Congress to take up Biden agenda
Senate, House aim to avoid another shutdown
WASHINGTON – Congress gets back to work Monday facing several major decisions that will test Democratic unity in the coming weeks as lawmakers vote on President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, routine funding for the federal government and the size of the federal debt.
Part of the reason for the collision of so many big-ticket spending bills is that lawmakers approved a two-year deal in 2019 for more spending and a suspension of the debt limit. The bills are coming due while pressure builds to pass Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget bill and a $1.2 trillion transportation plan to fund roads and bridges.
A thorny policy debate governing election law also looms.
The $1.2 trillion in infrastructure spending has been linked to the much more contentious $3.5 trillion budget package.
The Senate approved the infrastructure bill, which has $550 billion in new spending, on a bipartisan 69-30 vote last month. Rather than rubber-stamping the measure and sending it to Biden, the House agreed to vote on it by Sept. 27, so it could move in tandem with the $3.5 trillion package that no Republicans support.
House Democrats are still assembling the $3.5 trillion package with contributions from 13 committees that finished their portions last week. The Budget Committee will combine those pieces into a single bill. Then the Rules Committee could tweak the language before sending the bill to the floor. The race is on to get that work done near Sept. 27.
“We will pass that legislation,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-california, said of infrastructure, but only in combination with the larger package.
House will tinker
The $3.5 trillion package has drawn concerns from even a few Democrats. The party holds a narrow majority in the
House, so a few Democratic defectors threaten to trim or alter the proposal.
The package carries Biden priorities such as expanding Medicare to include vision, dental and hearing benefits; providing federally subsidized pre-kindergarten and community college; and financing 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for workers.
Democrats have a 220-212 advantage in the House, so opposition from at least four of them could kill the package.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said the $3.5 trillion price tag is too much for them to support.
Biden discussed the package Thursday with Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-new York.
Congress must extend funding
Against the backdrop of Biden’s priorities, the federal government is set to run out of money for its routine operations Oct. 1. To keep the lights on from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., to Denali National Park in Alaska, lawmakers will need to approve a temporary extension of funding until legislation
for the entire fiscal year is ready.
The House Rules Committee, which determines how bills are debated on the floor, scheduled a meeting Monday for the temporary extension of funding, which is called a continuing resolution.
Disputes over spending have shut down the federal government for short periods, including 35 days in late 2018 and early 2019 and 16 days in 2013.
During a shutdown, crucial functions such as the military and air-traffic control continue to operate, but discretionary functions such as national parks close down.
Increasing debt limit
The government also needs to increase the amount it borrows, called the debt limit.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent Pelosi a letter Sept. 8 warning that “extraordinary measures” the country uses to repay its debt “will be exhausted during the month of October.”
Ignoring the debt limit could harm the country’s borrowing ability. Other countries and investors could demand higher interest rates to finance debt.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-kentucky, acknowledged the debt limit needs to be raised, but he said Republicans would let Democrats do it on their own because they pursued the $3.5 trillion budget package without Republican support.
“Let’s be clear: With a Democratic President, a Democratic House, and a Democratic Senate, Democrats have every tool they need to raise the debt limit. It is their sole responsibility,” Mcconnell said in a tweet. “Republicans will not facilitate another reckless, partisan taxing and spending spree.”
Pelosi called that strategy “totally irresponsible.” She noted that Democrats joined Republicans in raising the debt limit three times during the Trump administration, when the debt increased $7 trillion.
Schumer called efforts to play games with the debt “reckless, irresponsible, despicable.”
“We did not resort to hostage taking or proclaim that it was the other side’s responsibility,” Schumer said. “We simply knew that when it came to the debt ceiling, it was important to put aside political differences and act responsibly, no matter who sits in the Oval Office.”
Senate could act on voting rights
The Senate could take action this week on a voting rights bill that aims to overturn state restrictions.
The Democratic proposal is a pareddown version of a voting rights bill Democrats failed to pass earlier this year.
Republicans have remained unified against election legislation, arguing that Democrats are trying to codify advantages to keep themselves in power rather than enhance voting security through tighter control over ballots and when they are cast.
Manchin proposed a narrower bill that Senate Democrats rallied behind that would expand early voting options, allow for registration on Election Day and battle partisan gerrymandering in determining the maps for House seats.
Manchin looks for support from 10 Republicans who would need to join 50 members of the Democratic caucus to overcome a filibuster that could kill the bill.