Liberal Democrats Crossing Their Fingers for a Miracle in July…Manchin a Key to Passing Biden’s Agenda
Liberal Democrats are gearing up for a very busy July when Congress returns from recess this week. They are working to figure out a way to pass Biden’s agenda. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has increased the pressure on negotiations with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. They want a filibuster-proof bill to pass major economic policies with only Democratic votes.
Democrats are focusing on $500 billion in spending and $1 trillion in revenue, and they hope to sway Sen. Manchin by putting half the savings toward deficit reduction, a high priority for the West Virginian senator.
Schumer and Manchin have already agreed on certain provisions in Biden’s agenda, but they have not agreed on the total package. With the Senate at a 50-50 split, this negotiation is pivotal for both sides of the aisle.
This agenda has been called reconciliation legislation, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would sink the bipartisan U.S.-China competition bill if the Democrats move forward with the Biden agenda package. He called it a “partisan bill.”
McConnell warned Democrats not to think about “ramming through gigantic tax hikes on party lines” in the current economy.
Let me be perfectly clear: there will be no bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) June 30, 2022
While this is happening, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is planning more votes to protect abortion rights after the Supreme Court decided to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. She called the court’s decision “appalling.”
Pelosi hopes that when the House returns, they “will again pass the Women’s Health Protection Act: landmark legislation enshrining the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law.”
The Senate already voted this year to block a Democratic bill to codify abortion rights into federal law ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling. But now, they are hoping to catch the momentum from some of the public backlashes against the Supreme Court.