Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced late Tuesday Democrats reached a budget agreement that will see $3.5 trillion spent over the next decade on “human infrastructure" items that Republicans have vowed to reject, such as an expansion of Medicare, climate change, childcare, paid leave, two years of 'free' community college, and more.
“We are very proud of this plan,” Schumer told reporters.
"You add that to that the $600 billion in a bipartisan plan and you get to $4.1 trillion, which is very, very close to what President Biden has asked us for," Schumer added. "Every major program that President Biden has asked us for is funded in a robust way."
The measure includes funding for a budget reconciliation package so Democrats can move the plan through the Senate with a simple majority, though it’s not guaranteed that they will have all 50 Democrats on board. Moderates could take issue with its price tag while progressives may want even more included.
Democrats have not gone into detail about how the plan will be funded.
The Democrats’ announcement Tuesday left many questions about their budget accord unanswered. These included how much it would raise through tax increases on the wealthy and corporations and other revenue to pay for its costs; how much would be spent on specific programs; and how Biden’s proposals would be curtailed or eliminated to fit into the legislation. […]
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a leading moderate who helped shape the budget package, said the measure would be fully paid for with offsetting revenue but provided no detail. Biden has proposed financing the measure with higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations and beefing up the IRS’s budget so it can collect more revenue from scofflaws. (AP)
President Biden will meet with Senate Democrats on Wednesday about the plan.
“We know we have a long road to go,” Schumer said. “We’re going to get this done for the sake of making average Americans’ lives a whole lot better.”
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