Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will reportedly jam the $1.9 trillion reconciliation package through the Senate in mid-December.
Schumer told his Democrat lieutenants Monday evening about his intentions to pass the package during the week of December 13, pending the parliamentarian finalizing what is allowed to be included within the massive tax and spending measure, according to Politico.
Under the parliamentarian’s consideration is whether the package complies with the House’s version of the bill, which is rife with items that are unrelated to a budgeting process, a key limiting factor of the reconciliation tactic.
NEW – BBB STILL WEEKS AWAY: After Dem lunch, Sen. Smith tells us, given more time needed for Byrd Rule talks, her best guess is Build Back Better comes to Senate floor the week of the 13th.
(What I get from that, and this is my interpretation, is that’s best case scenario.)
— Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) November 30, 2021
“Democrats will continue to meet with the Senate parliamentarian in order to complete the technical and procedural work required before a bill comes to the floor. Meetings were held over the Thanksgiving week, and we will continue this week and next week as needed,” Schumer said Monday.
It is unclear if all of the far-left provisions of the package will pass the Senate. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) has criticized many of the massive tax provisions of the bill, while Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is worried the massive package will increase President Biden’s thirty-year high inflation. Manchin has also voiced concerns over the package’s greatest expansion of welfare since Lyndon Johnson’s 1960’s Great Society.
Asked Schumer if Manchin has given him any assurances he’d advance BBB before Xmas, but he didn’t say. “We had a good meeting with Sen Manchin today. We mainly talked about climate issues, and we’re going to get this bill done with 50 Democrats before Christmas. That’s our goal”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 30, 2021
In order to pass the radical package, Schumer must carefully plan the Senate’s legislative days to avoid a logjam. First on his plate is to fund the federal government. The government is scheduled to go insolvent on Friday. There seems to be some agreement between McConnell and Schumer on the necessity of not letting the government go bankrupt.
After that, Schumer must raise the debt limit before December 15, a maneuver McConnell has promised to allow Democrats to perform on their own. Manchin has suggested a second time-consuming reconciliation package may be needed to raise the limit.
“Look, we’re going by Treasury’s guidance. They say right now, Dec. 15. So we have to address it by then. We’ll go by Treasury’s guidance,” McConnell said Tuesday.
NDAA update: Both sides are trading offers to try to break the impasse, but there’s no clear path forward at this point. Republicans really want a vote on Risch’s Nord Stream 2 amendment and are holding to that. Dems, reflecting the Biden administration’s position, are resisting.
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) November 30, 2021
Schumer is also currently battling Republicans on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which usually is a routine bipartisan piece of legislation every year. Republicans defeated a vote on the measure Monday night. Republicans have asked for more amendments to be made to the text of the bill.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø
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