Senate Democrats unveiled Monday their $3.5 trillion budget resolution, which will serve as the legislative vehicle for their partisan “infrastructure” bill.
Democrats unveiled the budget resolution, which could pass as quickly as this week. Democrats plan to use budgetary reconciliation to pass a radical transform of America’s child care, health care, and climate-change policies. Democrats only need a simple majority to pass the bill through the Senate.
A Senate Democrat memo claims economic growth, new taxes, and healthcare savings would “fully offset” the cost of the bill.
The memo reads:
The Budget Resolution will allow the Senate to make the most significant investment in tackling the climate crisis in US history, and put America on a path to meet President [Joe] Biden’s climate change goals of 80% clean electricity and 50% economy-wide carbon emissions reductions by 2030.
The budget resolution calls for:
- A civilian climate corps
- Debt relief
- Environmental justice investments in clean water affordability and access, healthy ports, and climate equity
- Investments in clean vehicles
- Paid Family and Medical Leave
- ACA expansion extension and filling the Medicaid Coverage Gap
- Health equity (maternal, behavioral, and racial justice health investments)
- State and local tax (SALT) tax deduction relief which primarily benefits wealthy, blue states
- Tax “fairness” for high-income individuals, or those who are making more than $400,000 per year
- Universal Pre-K for 3 and 4-year olds
- Electrifying the federal vehicle fleet (USPS and Non-USPS)
- Lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants, or amnesty for illegal aliens
The budget resolution does not contain a debt limit increase, meaning Congress will likely battle over how to raise the debt limit in the context of the $3.5 trillion bill.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that the Democrat reconciliation bill would likely cost closer to $5.4 trillion rather than $3.5 trillion.
The House and the Senate Democrat majorities will have to approve the budget resolution with reconciliation instructions. From there, various committees will have to mark up the pieces of the reconciliation bill.
The Senate could vote on the budget resolution as early as Thursday.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.