WASHINGTON (CN) — Senate Democrats issued their budget Monday for a $3.5 trillion package that pours funding into social programs, climate change initiatives and free education, queuing up a widely expected maneuver toward passage without GOP support.
“When we took the majority in the Senate earlier this year, the American people entrusted us with a great responsibility: to make their lives better. I am happy to report that we are making great progress towards that goal,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a letter Monday announcing the much-anticipated budget.
Indeed, the package is rife with priorities President Joe Biden has made planks of his presidency thus far. It funds universal pre-kindergarten, free community college for two years, paid leave, and an expansion of Medicare as well as elder care services and services for the disabled. It also includes investments to reduce prescription drugs.
The package features a raft of climate provisions that the White House said in a summary Monday would put the U.S. on track to meet the administration’s goal of 80% electricity and 50% economy-wide carbon reductions. Those reductions would come by way of new polluter fees for methane and carbon imports, the creation of coastal-resiliency programs, investments in the nation’s Interior Department to fend off drought and wildfire, the “electrifying” of the federal government’s vehicle fleet and buildings, and the first ever “Civilian Climate Corps,” to name a few.
The $3.5 trillion — to be spent over 10 years — would also be invested into public housing, green and sustainable housing, and the revitalization of veterans hospitals and buildings. Native American and American Indian tribes would see the largest single investment ever into infrastructure on their lands, and U.S. small business owners would see a boost in access to capital.
Contentiously for many Republicans in the Senate supporting a more conservative approach to immigration, the framework opens the door to immigrant laborers and their families. If passed as it stands today, the bill provides green cards to millions.
To pay for the package, the Biden administration has suggested raising corporate tax rates on the wealthy while keeping families who earn less than $400,000 annually out of the picture.
Democrats plan on using a legislative process known as budget reconciliation to advance the ambitious agenda. This would mean Democrats must have a simple majority or unanimous support among members of their party to pass the bill without any Republican support.
That prospect looks close to insurmountable for now given steady opposition expressed by Democrats like Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Both lawmakers have griped over the package’s price tag, invoking reconciliation to remove the filibuster and how the package would increase the nation’s debt.
Instructions on how to handle the nation’s debt limit is glaringly omitted in the package released by Democrats.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged Congress in a letter Monday to increase the debt limit through “regular order,” and it was her second warning in as many weeks. The department is already utilizing what it describes as “extraordinary measures” to keep America from defaulting on its $28 trillion in debt. To waylay a possible default, the Treasury has reduced investments into federal retirement programs.
“During the last administration, Democrats and Republicans came together to do their duty three times. Congress should do so again now by increasing or suspending the debt limit,” Yellen wrote.
The Congressional Budget Office said in July it expects the government to run out of funding by October or early November if lawmakers fail to act.
Republicans wanted a debt ceiling included in Monday’s $3.5 trillion budget package, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned repeatedly that the GOP will not increase the debt ceiling.