“GOOD NEWS”
“As you know by now, the House will postpone the vote on the BIF,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues on Thursday night.
“The good news is that most members who were not prepared for a yes vote today have expressed their commitment to support the BIF.”
Despite lawmakers’ simmering frustrations as they headed back to their home districts, progressives signaled late Thursday they would be ready – in principle – to vote on the infrastructure bill and the social welfare bill as early as next week.
And Ro Khanna, a progressive congressman from California and deputy whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), told CNN his caucus was “pretty assured” that the social spending package would move forward.
Biden will see this as a major sign that the left wing is on board with Build Back Better, despite many of their priorities being scaled back, even if they still have objections over the timetable.
“We wanted a US$3.5 trillion package, but we understand the reality of the situation,” CPC chairwoman Pramila Jayapal told reporters.
Even leftist icon Senator Bernie Sanders, who had complained of “major gaps” in the framework, specifically on prescription drugs and health care expansion, acknowledged that it was the “most consequential bill since the 1960s.”
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