“Let me be clear — this is a huge bill," Senator Bernie Sanders said, describing the budget bill on Wednesday. "This is a complicated bill. This is a transformative bill.”
Then the progressive stalwart added, “Compromises have to be made.” Sanders was in the thick of the negotiations, so he knows what he's talking about. Even so, it's an unusual remark from Vermont's old man of the political mountain.
The budget bill that the Senate unveiled today was created just by the Democrats. That's because Democrats used the byzantine rules of the Senate's "reconciliation" process so that the bill could pass with only 51 votes (including Kamala Harris's). It's a filibuster-busting process. But you already knew that.
In general, Democratic legislators were thrilled to have their concerns addressed for the first time since President Obama left office. As it's currently written, the bill would:
--Expand Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing services. (Loss of hearing hastens dementia in the elderly.)
--Fund health care for the poor in GOP-led states that won't expand Medicaid.
--Fund universal pre-kindergarten and child care subsidies.
--Fund more help for food, leaves of absence, and housing for those with low incomes.
--Raise the maximum for Pell Grant loans for lower-income college students.
--Extend the Child Tax Credit, which is getting underway just this week, to a maximum of $3,600 a year for young children and $3,000 for older kids -- and continue other tax breaks that include the Earned Income Tax Credit -- for households of modest income. (Democrats want to make the Child Tax Credit permanent. If employers aren't going to pay fair wages, and if Republicans won't raise the minimum wage, someone else has to help out!)
--Include funds for immigrants to provide Dreamers and pandemic "essential workers" with a path to citizenship.
There is a nascent plan for cutting prescription drug prices too, which Elizabeth Warren said would be addressed later in the year.
The overall price tag for this is $3.5 trillion. Herbert Hoover would need smelling salts. A lot of moderate Democrats aren't happy with the prospect of being labeled the "tax and spend" party. To pay for the bill, the Dems have committed to raising taxes only on people taking in $400,000 a year and up, but it's still a lot of money.
In addition to the $3.5 trillion, Democrats aim to push through a $1.7 trillion infrastructure bill.
It's worth noting one key problem with writing the budget: Many programs that are entitlements (meaning, in government-speak, that they're financial obligations) have only moderately predictable costs because they are pegged to economic measures -- notably, gross domestic product -- that can vary from year to year. The Office of Management and Budget can make predictions, but ultimately, the cost of the bill isn't known right away.
Joe Biden made a visit during lunch to the Democratic caucus on Wednesday, saying "We're going to do this!" We kinda-sorta believe it!
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How would you like to negotiate a bill like that?
Do you agree with the priorities that the Democrats have put in the budget?
What kinds of objections to the budget do you expect to hear in coming weeks?
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/14/progressive-highlights-democrats-budget-499678
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