Solidarity is the route to success on the $3.5 trillion proposed bill to help families and curb global warming – but it’s elusive.
WASHINGTON — Revamp the tax code and important federal health care and environment programs. Spend $3.5 trillion over 10 years, but maybe a lot less. Ensure that no more than three Democrats in all of Congress vote “no” because Republicans will be unanimously opposed. Try to finish within the next couple of weeks. And oh yes: Failure means President Biden’s own party will have repudiated him on the cornerstone of his domestic agenda. That’s what congressional Democrats face as they try writing a final version of a massive bill bolstering the social safety net and strengthening efforts to tame climate change. Here’s a guide to some pivotal differences they must resolve: The White House and top Democrats compromised on a $3.5 trillion,10-year cost for the bill. That’s a huge sum, though a fraction of the $61 trillion in federal spending already slated over that period. Moderates led by Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have said $3.5 trillion is too expensive, and votes from every Democrat in the 50-50 Senate are mandatory for success. Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have recently acknowledged what seems inevitable: The final cost may have to drop. Manchin has suggested limiting the total to $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, which progressives reject as paltry. Led by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., they initially said at least $6 trillion was needed for serious efforts to help families and curb global warming. Eventually a compromise will be reached, with some expecting it in the $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion range. But since House committees just finished crafting a $3.5 trillion version of the package, a smaller price tag means some priorities would have to be trimmed. To pay for much of the bill, the House Ways and Means Committee approved $2.1 trillion in tax boosts, mostly on the rich and corporations. Some details and numbers seem likely to change. Biden, who’s promised to not increase taxes on people earning under $400,000, will probably get his proposal to raise the top individual income tax rate on the richest Americans to 39.6%. That would be up from 37% approved under former President Donald Trump. But Democrats also want to raise other levies on the wealthiest.
