Senate Majority Leader Schumer Says He Has The 50 Votes For The Democrats’ Budget Reconciliation Bill

Politico reports, Schumer says he has votes for moving $3.5 trillion package:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that all 50 Democrats will vote to move forward on the party’s $3.5 trillion social spending proposal.

The devil will be in the details.

Schumer’s remarks come after the Senate took the first step to advance a $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure framework Wednesday evening. The New York Democrat has long insisted that the Senate will pass both the bipartisan bill and a budget blueprint for the multitrillion-dollar legislative package before the chamber leaves for the August recess.

“We will move forward on both tracks,” Schumer said Thursday morning. “I’m proud of my Democratic caucus, every one of them voting yesterday for this bill and all pledging to go forward on the second track as well.”

While all 50 Democratic senators support beginning the process of passing the $3.5 trillion bill, the final price tag on the bill is not yet clear. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said Wednesday that while she will vote to move forward, she does not support legislation that costs $3.5 trillion, angering progressives in her party.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), another moderate Democrat, said last week that while he was committed to advancing the bill, he reserved the right to do “whatever the hell I want” on final passage.

Progressives have been clear from the get go: this bipartisan deal MUST be paired with a big and bold investment into families, workers, and our communities.https://t.co/3VY9pHwHvj

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) July 29, 2021

Our statement on the budget and infrastructure negotiations: pic.twitter.com/yQ2aypcuxc

— Progressive Caucus (@USProgressives) July 28, 2021

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are already waging a messaging war against the social spending bill. While 17 Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, joined all 50 Democrats in voting to consider the bipartisan legislation, Republicans are dubbing the second multitrillion-dollar package as a “reckless tax and spending” spree.

In his opening remarks Thursday, McConnell said that he was “happy” to forge ahead on the bipartisan physical infrastructure package. But he added that “the kind of focused compromise that our colleagues have been hashing out could not contrast more sharply” with the Democratic bill.

Democrats will use the so-called budget reconciliation process to pass the social spending package without GOP support. The legislation is expected to include top policy priorities for the party, ranging from climate change to child care to health care.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pledged that she will not move forward on the bipartisan bill until the Senate passes the second package.

Previously, Pelosi stands firm on demand for reconciliation to take up the bipartisan bill:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is standing firm on her demand that the Senate pass the House’s reconciliation bill before the lower chamber will consider the bipartisan infrastructure bill, a top Democratic lawmaker said.

Speaking to reporters after the House Democratic Caucus’ Tuesday night meeting, House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said Pelosi (D-Calif.) remained committed to passing the second infrastructure measure focused on Democrats’ broad policy priorities.

“What the Speaker has said, and I totally agree with her, is that we’re not going to vote on one until the Senate sends us both. That’s not changed,” the Kentucky lawmaker said.

[B]iden split his two-part “Build Back Better” proposal, a centerpiece of his post-COVID campaign message, into two packages for Congress to pass.

The first, the “American Jobs Plan,” focused on infrastructure, while the second, the “American Families Plan,” is aimed at funding Democrats’ domestic policy platform.

[P]elosi threw cold water on the notion that the House of Representatives would take up the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure deal if the Senate did not take up the “Families Plan” legislation.

“Let me be really clear on this,” she began, “We will not take up a bill in the House until the Senate passes the bipartisan bill and a reconciliation bill. If there is no bipartisan bill, then we’ll just go when the Senate passes a reconciliation bill.

Got that Kyrsten Sinema? Speaker Pelosi holds real leverage here. She controls the House agenda. You don’t get your precious “bipartisan” unicorn unless you play nice and vote for the Budget Reconciliation bill. Your threat to obstruct the Budget Reconciliation bill for media attention is not well taken. Be a team player.