Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is urgently calling for action in his fractured party amidst Democrats’ impasses on raising the debt ceiling or passing the $1.2 Trillion on infrastructure and $3.5 Trillion budget reconciliation bills.
“It is crucial that the House, Senate, and president come to a final agreement on the details of the Build Back Better Act as soon as possible, preferably within a matter of days, not weeks,” Schumer wrote in a letter to the Senate Democratic caucus, according to myriad reports.
“I will be working with the speaker and the president – and encourage all of you to help us – to reach that agreement expeditiously.”
In his letter, Schumer stated that he was working to raise the debt limit this week.
“Let me be clear about the task ahead of us: We must get a bill to the president’s desk dealing with the debt limit by the end of the week. Period,” Schumer wrote, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary, has warned that the U.S. could default if its debt limit isn’t raised by the end of the month. She set an Oct. 18 “X date” to approve a higher limit and gave the U.S. a deadline of Oct. 18.
“The consequences of even approaching the X date could be disastrous for our economy and devastating to American families,” Schumer’s letter warned, the Journal reported.
Although the Senate passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill and sent it to the House for consideration, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House Speaker, stated that the bill must be passed along with the larger package of social benefits in the budget reconciliation bill. In an effort to make the budget bill smaller and bundle it with climate change spending and social benefits, progressives have resisted infrastructure.
Moderate Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have held out on support for the $3.5 trillion spending bill, saying it lacked urgency and was too large. Sinema had been a leader of the bipartisan infrastructure group, reportedly whipping up 10 GOP votes on the vow it could pass without being saddled to the budget reconciliation effort that Democrats intended to move with only 50 Democrat and independent votes in the Senate.
Manchin wants to limit the budget at $1.5 trillion. Now the Democrat powerholders are left to negotiate the composition of the bill with both the chambers of Congress as well as the president.
“We can get this done, together, if we put aside our differences and find the common ground within our party,” Schumer’s letter read, according to The Hill. “It will require sacrifice.
“Not every member will get everything he or she wanted. But at the end of the day, we will pass legislation that will dramatically improve the lives of the American people. I believe we are going to do just that in the month of October.”
