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A few days after the Infrastructure Plan is approved in the Plenary of Congress in accordance with bipartisan plans , there are those who say that perhaps this will not be possible. This position comes from a sector of the Democrats, who threaten not to vote if there is no budget reconciliation to have more resources that would be allocated to social programs.
This was stated by the representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who by her position seemed to throw cold water on the impulse of the bill when she said that there is the possibility that the bipartisan package that proposes a budget of $ 1 trillion is never approved .
Ocasio-Cortez told CNN that “if there is no conciliation bill in the House and if the Senate does not pass a conciliation bill, we will not pass the bipartisan bill ”. The legislator threatened that to vote in favor a larger budget is required. The Democrat said that the House has “enough” votes to avoid approval.
Ocasio-Cortez and other lawmakers from the progressive wing have criticized that the bipartisan bill does not have the necessary elements to advance the agenda democrat. This position is shared by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, who warned that she would not hold a vote on the infrastructure bill until the conciliation bill is $ 3.5 billion and is endorsed by the Senate.
Rep. @ AOC on the bipartisan infrastructure deal: “If there is not a reconciliation bill in the House and if the Senate does not pass a reconciliation bill, we will uphold our end of the bargain and not pass the bipartisan bill until we get all of these investments in. ” # CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/QkUBYcbbra
– State of the Union (@CNNSotu) August 1, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez and other lawmakers from the progressive wing have criticized that the bipartisan bill does not have the necessary elements to do advance the Democratic agenda. This position is shared by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, who warned that she would not hold a vote on the infrastructure bill until the conciliation bill is $ 3.5 billion and is endorsed by the Senate.
Meanwhile, Senate leader Chuck Schumer reported that a final vote could be held in a few days. The bill requires $ 550 $ 1 billion in new spending over five years above projected federal levels, which could be one of the most substantial highway spending , bridges, hydraulic works, broadband and the country’s electricity grid in years.
The position of Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez contrasts with that of other Democrats such as Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who has publicly said that she is satisfied with how the bill that worked with the Republicans was built, so she would not feel comfortable voting a budget reconciliation to be spending more money for purposes other than infrastructure.
A few days before the issue has to be approved, before the next legislative recess, the situation is getting complicated for Democrats, already that for the Infrastructure Plan to be approved, they require the votes of the entire caucus plus 10 of the Republicans. Otherwise, President Biden’s plan will not be possible and will remain a bill.
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