Hi there.
It’s time to take another look at Congress’s reconciliation bill. Today, I want to zero in on the aspects of the bill that stem directly from President Biden’s American Families Plan. I’ve talked about a lot of this before, so I’ll just share two articles that do an excellent job of recapping the myriad ways this bill can help American families, then discuss the obstacles the bill still faces.
New York Times: From Cradle to Grave, Democrats Move to Expand Social Safety Net
There’s a real danger of many of these provisions getting gutted— particularly universal pre-K. The problem, as usual, is Joe Manchin.
As New York Magazine explains, Manchin has called on his colleagues to take a “strategic pause” on the spending bill. According to Axios, Manchin wants to take the price tag down from $3.5 trillion to just $1 trillion. He hasn’t explained his reasoning beyond vague complaints about partisanship and caution. But I can’t imagine what items we can afford to drop. Education? Fighting climate change? Taking care of workers?
Senate Majority Schumer doesn’t see anything worth cutting, either. That’s why, as Politico reports, Schumer is moving forward with the $3.5 trillion plan. But if he can’t get Manchin to toe the party line, he runs the risk of seeing the bill fail altogether. Let’s hope Schumer knows what he’s doing.
I apologize for keeping today’s edition so short, but I’ve got a packed schedule for the rest of the day.
Thank you for caring enough to read.
Be safe. Drink water. You are loved.
Talk to you tomorrow.