Shutdown Averted, Pelosi Delays Big Vote

Meanwhile, Manchin wants Biden's $3.5T plan cut to $1.5T
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 30, 2021 1:09 PM CDT
Updated Oct 1, 2021 12:00 AM CDT
Senate Votes to Avert Closure; Manchin Reveals Number
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during her weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Update: President Joe Biden on Thursday night signed legislation to keep the government funded through Dec. 3, with just hours to spare before a government shutdown, the AP reports. Also Thursday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delayed a vote on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. CNN notes Democrats may be waiting until a deal has been struck on the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, for which negotiations will resume Friday. Our original story from Thursday follows:

After much drama, the US will avoid a potentially calamitous government shutdown at midnight. But talks continue on legislation that could decide the fate of President Biden's agenda. The latest details from a busy day in DC:

  • Shutdown: The Senate voted Thursday afternoon to provide funding to keep the government running through early December, reports the Washington Post. The House quickly followed suit and passed it on to Biden for his signature, per CNBC.
  • 2 other votes: Democrats, meanwhile, were scrambling to pass Biden's $3.5 trillion plan to overhaul the government, as well as a slimmer $1 trillion public works bill, per the AP. A promised vote on the latter faltered amid stalled talks on the bigger package.
  • Pelosi: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assembled her leadership team for a morning meeting and emerged determined to push ahead, strike a deal with Biden over his bigger $3.5 trillion effort, and avoid what would be a stunning setback if voting on the public works bill failed or had to be scrapped. Democrats are deeply at odds as progressive lawmakers threaten to withhold votes on the roads-and-bridges infrastructure bill they view as insufficient unless it is paired with Biden's broader vision. In the narrowly controlled House, Pelosi has no votes to spare.

  • 'Fun part': “Step by step,” Pelosi said at the Capitol, suggesting a deal with Biden was within reach. “This is the path—it’s not a fork in the road,” she said. “This is the fun part.” The risks are clear, but so is the potential reward as Biden and his party reach for a giant legislative accomplishment—promising a vast rewrite of the nation’s balance sheet with an ever-slim majority in Congress. His idea is to essentially raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy and use that money to expand government health care, education, and other programs.
  • Manchin's number: Attention is focused on Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, centrist Democrats who view Biden's plan as too big but have infuriated colleagues by not making any counter-proposals public. Manchin called an impromptu press conference Thursday outside the Capitol, insisting he has been clear from the start—his topline is $1.5 trillion. "I'm willing to sit down and work on the $1.5," Manchin told reporters.
  • Manchin, II: Politico reports that Manchin proposed the lower figure in a document sent to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in late July. Both senators signed the document. "Leader Schumer never agreed to any of the conditions Sen. Manchin laid out," says a Schumer spokesperson. "He merely acknowledged where Sen. Manchin was on the subject at the time."
(More Congress stories.)

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