Dems’ agenda, people’s future at stake this week

 Bill Knight column for 8-26, 27 or 28, 2021

  

Simmering discord in the U.S. House this week may tempt some to think of Shakespeare’s old line “A pox on both your houses.”

That’s understandable...

… unless you have kids, find health care inadequate, feel college is unaffordable, think the rich don’t pay their share of taxes, or worry about climate change.

The House is about to debate the $3.5 trillion spending plan that passed the Senate on a party-line vote, plus the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that the Senate also approved.

However, two caucuses of House Democrats disagree on the next steps in meeting challenges to the country. Nine conservative Democrats say they won’t back the (budget reconciliation) spending plan unless the infrastructure measure comes up first, and 96 members of the Progressive Caucus (co-founded 30 years ago by the late Illinois Congressman Lane Evans) insist on voting for the budget spending plan first or they won’t back the infrastructure bill.

In the Senate, conservative Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona are now wavering, too, and progressive Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts dismissed such conservative threats as “climate denial masquerading as bipartisanship.”

Most House Democrats want to enact Biden’s agenda and serve the public. (After all, Biden voters were clamoring for a pro-democracy, pro-racial justice administration different than the Trump term, not bipartisanship-above-all and better highways.

“Congress can make a down payment not only in hard infrastructure through this bipartisan legislation,” said Illinois’ progressive Congresswoman Marie Newman, “but also in social, human and climate infrastructure through the reconciliation process.”

Infrastructure funding would mean tens of thousands of good, unionized jobs and improvements besides highways, and airports: upgrading the electric grid, mass transit, and high-speed internet PLUS restoring public confidence that government can address people’s needs despite filibuster obstructionism and deference to campaign contributors’ interests.

In Illinois, that could include funding for roads and bridges, but also cyberattack protections, electric-vehicle charging stations, replacing dangerous lead water pipes and modernizing public transportation.

As Newman said, the infrastructure bill alone is insufficient if social needs aren’t addressed. That makes the budget plan more important, progressives say.

The budget plan/reconciliation – the largest expansion of the social safety net since the New Deal decades ago – could cut prescription drug costs, make two years of community college tuition-free, guarantee medical leave, provide universal Pre-K, a Civilian Climate Corps, Medicare expansion and more.

The budget bill is a blueprint outlining goals; lawmakers have yet to detail specifics.

Conservatives want cuts or compromises, despite analysts such as Columbia University economic historian Adam Tooze saying the infrastructure bill will pay for itself with increased economic output and its increased tax revenue.

Progressives argue the current bills ARE the compromise since they’d originally urged a $6 trillion investment in infrastructure AND social needs, and groups such as Public Citizen, MoveOn.org, Women’s March, and the Working Families Party are rallying for unity.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Saturday said it’s vital to act swiftly, scheduled the spending plan-reconciliation first, saying, “The House must pass the budget reconciliation immediately. [It’s] the key to unlocking the 51-vote privilege of the reconciliation package for our transformative Build Back Better” priorities. (House Dems have a 220-212 majority; the Senate is split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala the tiebreaker.)

Pelosi also said after reconciliation and infrastructure, she’ll introduce the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore and bolster voting rights weakened by the Supreme Court and some states’ efforts to suppress turnouts.

Despites infighting, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and President Biden have largely sidestepped the bickering. They seem to respect conservatives’ traditional, cautious approach while also valuing progressives’ ideas and energy. The Democratic Party is a big tent, and caucuses often work together (witness progressive freshman Congresswoman Cori Bush’s protest about expiring eviction protections, resulting in an extension).

Democratic leaders in both chambers say they’re optimistic that the bills will pass, and Progressive Caucus member Ro Khanna from California said, “It’s going to be a challenge. I’m confident we’ll get it done.”

Schumer hopes for legislation to be finalized by mid-September.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and 16 other Republicans who voted for infrastructure know that repairing bridges and roads is popular, but so is repairing Americans’ lives.

Still, maybe it’s time for sparring Democrats to appreciate winning a 69-30 infrastructure vote and pass the budget reconciliation – “settling” for some advancements.

Another old saying, attributed to Voltaire, comes to mind: “Perfect is the enemy of good.”