OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has confirmed that Democrats will attempt to pass the “infrastructure” bill through the House by October 1.
Pelosi announced that the House is “hard at work” to pass both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a larger, Democrat-backed spending package in the near future.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter sent out, Pelosi claimed that the “Build Back Better” plan laid out by Joe Biden enjoys “a broad and bipartisan level of public support throughout the country.”
“Pelosi stated that the $3.5 trillion price tag for the larger infrastructure package, a legislative priority for the Biden administration, will remain the topline number for the bill,” The Hill reported. “The bill would include child care, home health care, and paid family and medical leave.”
“The President has been clear: this is the number that will honor his vision to Build Back Better,” she said.
“This is the number that has been agreed to in the Senate and is now before us in the House. Accordingly, we will write a reconciliation bill with the Senate that is consistent with that top line,” she added.
“Any delay to passing the budget resolution threatens the timetable for delivering the historic progress and the transformative vision that Democrats share,” Pelosi said.
“The House is hard at work to enact both the Build Back Better Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill before October 1st when the BIF would go into effect,” she added.
While Pelosi is acting confident, others don’t think she has the votes.
A handful of moderate Democrats have joined Republicans and are threatening to tank Biden’s massive spending plan if Pelosi does not allow the House to only vote on the infrastructure bill.
“Moderate Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said Monday that there are likely enough GOP votes for the bipartisan infrastructure bill to overcome the number of Democrats vowing to block it, as centrists from both parties pressure House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the legislation for a vote,” Fox News reported.
“Fitzpatrick, the co-chairman of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, also warned that moderate Republicans could turn against the compromise legislation passed by the Senate if Pelosi, D-Calif., delays the bill’s consideration or ties it to Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending plan they hope to pass via budget reconciliation,” the report added.
“If the BIF is stand-alone, there is significant Republican support,” the congressman from outside Philadelphia told Fox News. “If the BIF is linked to any other bill or held up for months, that support would fall apart.”
This means the 9 moderate House Democrats have leverage over Pelosi to force her into holding a vote on the $! trillion infrastructure bill.
And according to Politico, Pelosi railed against the nine moderates in a caucus call Monday night. She made clear that she is unswayed by their threat to vote against the budget resolution and said “this is no time for amateur hour.”
🚨NEW, thread: moderate Dems get backup from GOP in bid to squeeze Pelosi, force bipartisan infrastructure vote @RepBrianFitz tells me there is likely enough GOP support overcome progressive Dems vowing to block bipartisan infrastructure bill.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 17, 2021
Speaker Pelosi reportedly said in caucus call tonight she was unswayed by moderate House Dems threats to vote against budget resolution until bipartisan infra bill gets a vote – sticking with progressives, who demanded it not move until human infra reconciliation bill advances
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 17, 2021
Earlier this month, Donald Trump raged against the Republicans who helped Democrats pass the infrastructure bill in the Senate and threatened to withhold endorsements.
“Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill is a disgrace. If Mitch McConnell was smart, which we’ve seen no evidence of, he would use the debt ceiling card to negotiate a good infrastructure package,” he said in the email.
“Republicans should wait until after the Midterms when they will gain all the strength they’ll need to make a good deal, but remember, you already have the card, it’s called the debt ceiling, which the Democrats threatened us with constantly,” Trump said.
