\u200bHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday backed off her pledge to bring the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill up for a vote on Monday, \u2026<\/b>
\nHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday backed off her pledge to bring the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill up for a vote on Monday, saying she won\u2019t do it if the votes aren\u2019t there. \u201cI\u2019m never bringing to the floor a bill that doesn\u2019t have the votes,\u201d Pelosi said on ABC News\u2019 \u201cThis W e ek.\u201d \u201cYou cannot choose the date. You have to go when you have the votes in a reasonable time, and we will,\u201d she said. But the California Democrat insisted that \u201cwe\u2019re going to pass the bill this week.\u201d Pelosi last Friday said she would bring the measure up for a floor vote on Monday under pressure from moderate Democrats who have tied its fate to the sweeping $3.5 trillion spending plan. Both are key parts of President Biden\u2019s agenda. Moderates want the bipartisan measure to pass first, but progressive Democrats are pushing for a vote first on the $3.5 trillion spending legislation that contains funding for the climate, family leave, education and expansion of the social safety net. \u201cIn order to move forward, we have to build consensus,\u201d Pelosi said. She said it\u2019s \u201cself-evident\u201d that the price tag for the spending plan will come in under $3.5 trillion. \u201cYeah, that seems self-evident. That seems self-evident,\u201d she told host George Stephanopoulos. \u201cI think even those who want a smaller number support the vision of the president,\u201d she said. \u201cObviously with negotiations there will have to be some changes with that, the sooner the better so that we can build our consensus to go forward, and we will do that,\u201d Pelosi said. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, confirmed during an appearance on CNN that the votes aren\u2019t there for the bipartisan deal. \u201cI don\u2019t believe there will be a vote,\u201d Jayapal said on \u201cState of the Union.\u201d \u201cThe s peaker is an incredibly good vote counter, and she knows exactly where her caucus stands, and we\u2019ve been really clear on that.\u201d \u201cThis is a pre-conference bill, which means everybody, everybody in the Senate, everybody in the House, has to agree to it,\u201d Jayapal added. She said the \u201cvast majority of the Democratic caucus\u201d is behind Biden\u2019s \u201cBuild Back Better\u201d proposals, but wants the Senate to engage with the House. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) called on the Democrats in the House to pass the infrastructure bill first, saying the two pieces of legislation are separate. \u201dYou\u2019ve got the infrastructure, a historic once-in-a-century [bill].\u2026 There\u2019s no reason why we shouldn\u2019t pass that right away and get those shovels in the ground,\u201d Gottheimer, the co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, said during an appearance on CNN. The $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan passed the Senate in August by a 69-30 vote. The House Budget Committee on Saturday approved advancing the $3.5 trillion plan to a floor vote. All of the 16 Republicans on the panel voted against it.<\/p>\n