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As difficult as it was for Democrats, passing US President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 bailout package for $ 1.9 trillion (NZ $ 2.64 trillion) was the easy part.
Now, they are preparing to push the next priorities on Biden’s agenda beyond what, until now, has been a wall of entrenched Republican opposition in the highly divided Congress. It is likely to be a long job.
Popular legislation to expand voting rights, raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, and develop the president’s “Build Back Better” infrastructure package are all on deck this spring and summer.
But unlike the relatively swift approval of the American Rescue Plan, in the middle of the president’s first 100 days, shipping the next measures to Biden’s desk is expected to take many months. Democrats are even considering changing the historic obstruction rules to beat opponents and speed up bills.
“It will take time to put all the pieces together,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a member of the Democratic Party leadership.
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Biden’s signing of the American Rescue Plan on Thursday (local time) marks a milestone for his administration and for Democrats who are in command of the House, Senate and White House for the first time in a decade.
From party leaders to grassroots lawmakers, Democrats are encouraged by what they can accomplish when they stand together, as a united front, against Republican opposition to Biden’s agenda. But the next few weeks and months will be more politically challenging.
Andrew Harnik / AP
US President Joe Biden has an ambitious agenda and faces strong opposition to it, especially in the Senate, where all bills effectively need a 60% majority vote to pass.
Democrats face mounting pressure from within their centrist ranks to do more to win Republican support, especially on the next infrastructure bill: a multi-trillion dollar investment in roads, bridges, ports and broadband that it could be even bigger than the newly signed coronavirus. rescue package.
At the same time, the progressive flank is eager not to waste time and take more dramatic action, including changing the Senate’s 60-vote margin required by obstruction rules, if necessary, to outrun Biden’s opponents.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said all options remain on the table.
“We need a big bold agenda, as we passed it,” Schumer said this week, vowing to “do everything possible to achieve that bold agenda.”
If Republicans “don’t join us on that,” he said, “our Congress will meet and determine the next steps.”
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, says all options are on the table regarding the effective Senate supermajority requirement to pass the legislation.
The next big test will come quickly, even before the big infrastructure bill is fully formed.
The House is swiftly sending the 50-50 split Senate a series of bills that many Americans support: to expand voting rights, increase the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, and expand background checks for gun purchases. .
Democrats are ready to use those bills as driving tests to assess Republican attitudes. If Senate Republicans start blocking the legislation, Democrats are prepared to force them to spend long days and nights of dramatic filibusters, like the movie version in Mr. Smith goes to Washington.
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia opened the door to force opponents to stand up and plead their case in the so-called “talking filibuster” – to feel some pain, as he put it himself – if they want to block a bill. .
Manchin has been one of the most outspoken Democratic opponents to ending obstructionism, but he is not alone. While it takes 60 votes to overcome an obstructionism in legislation, a difficult task in the evenly divided Senate that would require at least 10 votes from Republicans, it also takes 50 votes to change Senate rules. Ten other Democrats are also hesitant to remove the tool.
Obstructionism gives the minority enormous capacity to stop action, and Senate Democrats used it many times when they were out of power. But opponents of obstructionism say it has been abused over the years, particularly as a mid-century tool to delay civil rights legislation, calling it a historically racist tool that gives the minority too much power over the majority.
“There are a lot of ways we can test that in the coming months,” Senator Chris Murphy said.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Democrats also have control of the US House of Representatives.
The House bills that are sent to the Senate are largely renewals that stalled in the last session of Congress. At the time, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, then Majority Leader, enjoyed his role as the “grim reaper” presiding over the “graveyard” of Senate House Democratic bills.
In the weeks and months to come, some Republicans will likely happily seize the opportunity to give lengthy speeches on the floor against the bills they oppose, as Senator Ted Cruz once did, reading Dr. Green eggs with ham to his then young daughters who watched television from home.
Many legislators raise funds from such efforts, raising large donations of small dollars.
“If in a 50-50 Senate, filibuster leaves us stumped with basic legislation, it’s just a reminder that McConnell’s approach to the legislative graveyard is going to prevail,” Sen. Dick Durbin, the majority whip, told reporters on the Hill. “And I think the members are sick of it.”
The outcome of the upcoming debates will set the stage for Biden’s next big effort, the comprehensive “Build Back Better” infrastructure plan that is already taking shape in public committee hearings and private conversations inside and outside the Capitol.
Along with investing in infrastructure, it could include big new policy changes, on green energy and immigration, and even make some of the newly approved Covid assistance, such as child tax credits, permanent.
Alex Brandon / AP
Democrats are eager to guide major bills in the Senate, after years of Mitch McConnell (pictured far right) and his “legislative graveyard.”
House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth said he expects it to be implemented in late summer or possibly fall.
Still, Biden’s infrastructure package may be a bill that could win Republican support. Legislation on highway and bridge construction has a long history of bipartisan support from legislators who need to invest at home. If the House and Senate allow lawmakers to request funds earmarked for specific needs, an issue that is also under discussion, that could boost support as well.
But the bill is likely to be broad, and other provisions on climate change or immigration may alienate Republicans. McConnell warned Democrats against going solo.
With the doubt that bipartisanship will emerge, there is growing support among Democratic senators to end filibuster if Republicans use it to block Biden’s bills.
“If Mitch McConnell continues to be a total obstructionist, and wants to use the 60 votes to impede everything that President Biden and the Democrats want to do, that will really help the people” by making it clear that Democrats will need to get rid of the obstructionism, Senator Mazie Hirono said.
“We may not be quite there yet,” said the senator, whose own views have now shifted to favor the removal of the tool. “I’m.”
