What's on the chopping block in the negotiations over Biden's scaled-back spending package
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President Biden has reportedly outlined a number of items that may be cut or scaled back from the final spending bill that's currently being negotiated.
Biden during a meeting with progressives on Tuesday said that the final spending bill is likely to drop tuition-free community college, CNN reports. Additionally, according to CNN, Biden suggested the child tax credit would be extended for one year, less than Democrats hoped for. Politico's Playbook called this the "most surprising" bit from the meeting, noting the child tax credit was "one of the crowning achievements of Biden's first legislative victory in the pandemic relief bill" and that extending it for only one year could be a "big problem for Democrats who wanted to make the enhancements permanent."
Biden also said the duration of the paid leave benefit may be reduced from a proposed 12 weeks to four, according to CNN. And The Washington Post reported that the new proposal would "offer new money to make housing more affordable, yet far less than Democrats once envisioned." According to Politico, a plan to expand Medicare "may be scaled back but could still make the cut." Biden is reportedly eying a price tag for the bill of up to $1.9 trillion, lower than the $3.5 trillion advocated for by Democrats like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
As far as climate change goes, Politico described this is the "fuzziest" part of the negotiations after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) recently said he opposes a key clean electricity program Biden was pushing for. Politico writes that one potential "Plan C" could "involve pouring tons more money into grants, loan guarantees and other programs aimed at curbing emissions," though according to CNN, Democrats have yet to unify behind a path forward on climate change, and Politico says that during Tuesday's meeting, there was a "sense was that the White House is still trying to get its footing on the issue."
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