OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The Senate Democrats began the process of bringing to fruition Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion massive budget spending bill.
The Senate voted along party lines to pass a $3.5 trillion blueprint that would amount to the biggest expansion of the social safety net in decades.
But for House Democrats it may not be so simple as Republicans are prepared to use their spending power on negative ads to pressure some moderate Democrats to vote against it, The Washington Times reported.
“It’s going to be a long, hot, and politically painful summer,” a top Democratic aide said. “We’re expecting it to be like the tea party-era, but worse.”
Many believe that is why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling back the chamber from recess in mid-August to vote on it.
“It wasn’t smart to keep these guys out there for a whole month,” the aide said.
Since the $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” bill will be dealt with in the Senate via the budget reconciliation process, which allows spending measures to avoid the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster hurdle and pass with a simple majority, congressional Republicans are expected to contribute virtually no votes to its passage, putting the political onus squarely on the Democrats.
And with the tiniest of majorities in both chambers, Democrats can barely afford to suffer a single defection in their caucus and hope to pass Mr. Biden’s centerpiece bill.
The reality has Republicans and their allies mobilizing to ensure Democrats own every part of the package. The pressure was evident on Wednesday, only hours after the Senate took an initial vote to start drafting the bill.
The American Action Network, a national conservative group with close ties to the House GOP, announced it would spend more than $5 million running ads against the package. The ads are set to air in 39 congressional districts, targeting Democrats in marginal seats primed to flip next year.
And even as Senate Majority Leader and New York Sen. Charles Schumer was able to get moderate Democrat Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema it may not be that simple when it comes time to actually negotiate in the fall.
“Early this morning, I voted ‘YES’ on a procedural vote to move forward on the budget reconciliation process because I believe it is important to discuss the fiscal policy future of this country. However, I have serious concerns about the grave consequences facing West Virginians and every American family if Congress decides to spend another $3.5 trillion,” Sen. Manchin said on Wednesday.
“Over the past year, Congress has injected more than $5 trillion of stimulus into the American economy – more than any time since World War II – to respond to the pandemic. The challenge we now face is different: millions of jobs remain unfilled across the country and rising inflation rates are now an unavoidable tax on the wages and income of every American. These are not indications of an economy that requires trillions in additional spending. Every elected leader is chosen to make difficult decisions. Adding trillions of dollars more to nearly $29 trillion of national debt, without any consideration of the negative effects on our children and grandchildren, is one of those decisions that has become far too easy in Washington.
“Given the current state of the economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at levels more suited to respond to a Great Depression or Great Recession – not an economy that is on the verge of overheating. More importantly, I firmly believe that continuing to spend at irresponsible levels puts at risk our nation’s ability to respond to the unforeseen crises our country could face. I urge my colleagues to seriously consider this reality as this budget process unfolds in the coming weeks and months,” he said.
