https://www.cbsnews.com/news/infrastructure-bills-senate-democrats-august-recess/Democrats announce deal on $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill
Washington — Democratic senators announced on Tuesday evening that they reached a deal on a $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill that they will attempt to pass through reconciliation, a process that will allow the legislation to be approved without any Republican votes. The bill is expected to include President Biden's "human" infrastructure priorities not covered by a bipartisan proposal, such as child care, health care, education and additional climate change-related provisions.
Mr. Biden will meet with Democrats at their luncheon on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced after the meeting between Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday. Schumer also said that the bill will include an expansion of Medicare benefits to cover dental and vision, a priority for Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders.
"We are very proud of this plan. We know we have a long road to go. We're going to get this done for the sake of making average Americans' lives a whole lot better," Schumer said.
As this larger bill is unlikely to garner any Republican votes, it must receive support from all 50 Democrats, meaning that it will need support from both ideological ends of the party. Senators must first craft a budget resolution, which will lay out instructions for passing the bill through reconciliation.
Senator Mark Warner, one of the more moderate members of the Democratic caucus who is also one of the key negotiators of the bipartisan bill, told reporters that the reconciliation bill will be fully paid for. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin had previously raised concerns about the price tag for a reconciliation bill and said that he believes infrastructure legislation should be fully funded.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators and their staff are finalizing the language for a nearly $1 trillion bill that primarily addresses surface transportation and "traditional" infrastructure priorities, as well as some climate-related provisions on electric vehicles, a deal that has the support of Mr. Biden. But some Republicans outside of the team of core negotiators have raised concerns about how the package will be paid for, expressing skepticism about the proposal to fund part of it through tax enforcement.
