Congressional Democrats Look To Get Build Back Better Across The Finish Line This Week

Democrats in D.C. hope to move President’s Biden’s social spending-climate agenda and bipartisan infrastructure legislation to the House floor this week, ahead of a Sunday deadline, but structuring needed tax revenue remained a vexing issue. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged the taxes to pay for the much-reduced Biden “Build Back Better” budget had to change to accommodate Senate moderates.

“We had in our House bill, which I was very proud of, an increase in the corporate rate, an increase in the capital gains, it was a very well received proposal, because it wasn’t punitive, it was fair. But we’ll see what survives.”

After Senate moderates Kirsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia demanded less spending and for Sinema, no corporate or individual rate hikes. American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duval said earlier AFBF opposes the Biden budget even as new biofuel, forestry, rural development and Ag research spending could be beneficial, opposing the $2 trillion of tax increases.

“To me, all that doesn’t really match up when you try to narrow it down to just what little bit in there is going to be for agriculture, even though they would be beneficial. We want to see the reconciliation bill in print, so that we can read it and evaluate it, that’s where we’re at right now.”

Democrats hoped to produce text this week ahead of the president’s trip to the COPS26 climate summit in Scotland, with the possibility of voting on a bipartisan Senate-passed infrastructure bill first, followed closely, by the budget bill.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekmedia.com