Thursday 28 October 2021
After pressure from his side
Biden cuts investment package
US President Biden wants to spare families and strengthen the fight against climate change. But the estimated cost of his plans – $3.5 trillion – goes too far even for parts of his party. Now a compromise is the presentation of the social and climatic package through the conference.
In response to pressure from parts of his party, US President Joe Biden has dramatically cut his planned package of investments in social and climate protection. After spending $1.75 trillion (1.5 trillion euros) in his plans, senior White House officials said. Originally, Biden targeted a package that was twice that size, worth $3.5 trillion. Moderate Democrats, however, resisted such high spending and, in months of negotiations, forced the president to abandon parts of his plans.
White House staff expressed confidence that the necessary majority would now appear in both houses of Congress for the watered-down package. “The president believes this framework will have the support of all 50 Democratic senators, and it will pass the House,” a senior government official said.
Center politicians Joe Manchin and Kirsten Senema dismiss the package of measures as too costly and also resist Biden’s planned tax increases for businesses the president wanted to resist his actions. The Democrats have a slim majority in the Senate, and so can’t stand a single opposition: Like the opposition Republicans, they have 50 senators, but in deadlocks, Vice President Kamala Harris, in her role as Senate president, has the reference vote. .
Biden seeks domestic political success
At first there was no formal agreement with the various partisan wings of the Democrats. Biden wanted to personally campaign for approval of the settlement package during a visit to the House Democratic parliamentary group on Thursday and then publicly comment on the project.
Among other things, it provides for lowering — at times appalling — childcare costs for many families in the state and, in some cases, for the state to take over entirely, and the tax credit for families and health services expanded. In the context of combating the climate crisis, investments in renewable energies and tax incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles are being planned, among others.
The package will be funded by tax increases for corporations and high-income earners as well as by more consistent collection of taxes owed. The White House expects about $2 trillion in new revenue — just over the cost of the package. Various plans Biden had originally included in the package, including his plan to offer twelve weeks of paid parental leave, were dropped.
Biden was eager to achieve domestic success with his reform agenda before leaving for Europe. The US president will meet Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron in Rome on Friday, before attending the G20 summit in the Italian capital at the weekend. He will then travel to the COP26 global climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.