Democrats' Dilemma Exposed: No Vote on Infrastructure, Sen. Manchin's Demands Laid Bare, and Another Debacle for Pres. Biden
The WH published this "Fact Sheet" on 6/24/21, and announced their support for 1.2 trillion "infrastructure" spending over eight years.
Also on 6/24/21, Speaker Pelosi announced "There won't be an infrastructure bill unless we have a reconciliation bill."
On 7/28/21, it published another fact sheet, with more details of the infrastructure bill, and mentioning bipartisan agreement.
Also on 7/28/21, Sen. Manchin proposes a deal to Sen. Schumer, outlining his top line numbers and positions for the budget reconciliation bill, including a $1.5 trillion price tag.
On 8/10/21, the US Senate approved a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, with 19 Republicans in support.
On 8/11/21, the US Senate adopted a $3.5 trillion budget resolution along party lines, with Sen. Manchin's support.
On 8/24/21, the US House adopted the $3.5 trillion budget resolution, after changing the rules at least three times, by a vote of 220-212.
Also on 8/24/21, Speaker Pelosi commits to passing the infrastructure bill by 9/27/21.
It's not clear why Sen. Manchin voted to adopt the $3.5T budget resolution, after putting in writing he wouldn't support anything 0ver $1.5T. It appears he covered himself by writing “Senator Manchin does not guarantee that he will vote for the final reconciliation legislation if it exceeds the conditions outlined in this agreement,” in bold text, in the document. Speaker Pelosi, on the other hand, has not been able to deliver on her commitment to even vote on, much less pass the infrastructure bill, which has already passed the Senate. Apparently, the progressive caucus is holding it hostage, by threatening to vote against it unless the Senate approves the reconciliation bill.
While Sen. Manchin wrote his memo in July, it only became public on Sept. 30th, when Politico published it. Democrats who claim they didn't know where he stood until then may not have been told about the document. Either way, he published an opinion piece in the WSJ that stated his position on Sept. 2nd. Now, it appears that the progressive House caucus is willing to lower their price tag to "around $2 trillion," which is still above Sen. Manchin's threshold. This happened after Speaker Pelosi refused to hold a vote that she knew wouldn't go her way.
In fact, Pres. Biden paid a visit to the House of Representatives, in essence telling them that the infrastructure bill won't pass until the budget reconciliation is ready to pass the Senate. This seems to contradict his statements from June 26th, when he said he supported signing the infrastructure bill without the reconciliation bill. Basically, he has abandoned any pretense of moderation or bipartisanship, and handed whatever leadership he had over to Sen. Sanders and the progressive caucus.
The politics are shaping up into another Biden debacle, making him look ineffectual whether either of the bills pass or not. The moderate House members have been thrown under the bus, now certain to lose their seats to the GOP in the midterms, regardless of the outcome. This is what happens when a party that has the slimmest majority in modern times thinks it has a mandate to remake the entire economy. Speaker Pelosi obviously thinks that losing her majority is worth passing the budget bill.
Why is that? Because it contains perhaps every item on the progressives' wish list. The full extent is still unknown, because the text was only available on Sept. 25th. Suffice to say that it will infringe on practically every aspect of private life, in that ugly way that government so often does. Speaker Pelosi, and most progressives think that people welcome this growing government intrusion, because they see it as a "benefit." They never consider that many people would prefer to have as little dependence on government as possible, because of the bureaucratic strings and controls that are always attached to it.
Further, one only has to look at the Biden track record. In eight months, he has screwed up every aspect of governing that he and his team have touched. From the border to the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and everything in between, all of his policies have blown up in his face. Does anyone think this ridiculous budget bill will be any different? Or for that matter, the bipartisan infrastructure bill? No, they both will prove to be boondoggles, if passed.
At this point, it looks as if Sen. Manchin and Sen. Sinema are holding the cards. The question is what is Sen. Sinema holding out for, since Sen. Manchin's cards are on the table. Perhaps his $1.5T number will be low enough for the progressives to blow the whole deal up. That would be the best outcome for the country, but it's probably too much to hope for. Whatever happens, this process has left Biden presiding over yet another debacle, to add to the long list.
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