President Biden said Thursday that he brokered a “historic economic framework” after he and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill came up with a blueprint for nearly $2 trillion in new social and environmental spending — even though some Democratic members, including Progressives, have agreed They still stand by their efforts. the support.
“I think we have history — I know we have a historic economic framework,” Biden said at the White House after an early morning visit with House Democrats, where he pleaded with them to agree to the settlement.
We’ve spent hours and hours and hours over months and months working on this. “Nobody got everything they wanted, including me,” he said.
The agreement paves the way for passage of the Senate’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan early Thursday. Writing a social and environmental spending bill will likely take days after Biden leaves the capital on Thursday afternoon for a trip to Europe.
“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that majorities of the House and Senate and my presidency will be determined by what happens next week,” Biden told House Democrats behind closed doors Thursday morning.
According to the White House, the framework deal between Democrats will cost $1.75 trillion and will be funded by $1.995 trillion in new revenue through new taxes and increased IRS enforcement.
The package, which Democrats can pass without Republican support using special budget-settlement rules, contains important elements of Biden’s original plan, but largely does not include free community college or paid parental and family leave for private sector workers due to opposition from centrists including Senator Joe Mansion (D-WVa.).
The compromise contains $555 billion in environmental spending and $400 billion in universal subsidies for preschool and child care that limit expenditures for most families by 7 percent of income.
The deal contains $150 billion for low-income housing, $150 billion for home health care, $130 billion in Obamacare tax credits and $35 billion for Medicare to cover the cost of hearing treatment. It would put $200 billion for a one-year extension in the annual child tax credit for families earning up to $150,000 — $2,000 to $3,000 per child, or $3,600 for those under six.
The spending is offset by a suite of meticulously negotiated tax increases for the wealthiest people and companies, as well as $400 billion in expected gains from tougher IRS enforcement.
Proposed tax increases include a new 15 percent minimum tax on large corporate profits and new taxes on corporate share buybacks and business transfers abroad. A new additional income tax of 5 percent on annual income over $10 million and an additional 3 percent on income over $25 million.
The framework would close a loophole that Biden himself exploited to avoid Medicare taxes on about $13 million of his income in 2017 and 2018 — a policy that the White House would raise $250 billion. Critics say Biden should reimburse the IRS for $500,000 and avoid paying it.
The White House framework does not include eliminating the 2017 “SALT cap” of $10,000 on state and local taxes that residents of high-tax jurisdictions like New York can deduct from federal taxes.
But a source close to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said scrapping the SALT cap – estimated to cost about $160 billion over two years – would be in the final deal. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) also said.
A group of New York-area House Democrats led by Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY) has vowed to oppose a package that does not address the SALT cap, which could spoil a deal due to the House’s very narrow Democratic majority.
Meanwhile, Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MD) told reporters Thursday that she “doesn’t deserve the hell” about going ahead with a vote on the infrastructure bill if the social spending package is not passed at the same time.
Although 19 Republican senators supported the infrastructure bill, House Republicans are attacking it, which means that Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should keep most Democrats in line and potentially win a number Few Republican Party votes.
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