“We’re going to execute (this plan),” the president promised when he arrived for lunch with Democratic senators.
On Tuesday night, these senators reached an agreement — in the budget committee — on a $3.5 trillion budget proposal, a significant move that would allow Biden to achieve his goal of making a mark on history. Economic and social impact of the United States.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that the deal was “a big step forward.” Recognizing that “there are extra steps. So (the president) goes to the Capitol.”
An amount of $3.5 trillion, similar to Germany’s GDP (3.8 trillion in 2020), should be used to finance energy transition measures and spending on health and education.
Democrats, who did not provide details of the measures planned, hope to pass their bill without the help of a Republican bench, using the budget mechanism.
The socio-environmental plan will be accompanied by another Biden re-launch project: a more traditional program of rail, about USD 1 in infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, water networks, internet, etc.).
The president’s congressional visit aims to “continue to advocate a dual approach,” Saki tweeted.
– juggling –
The 78-year-old president, who spent 36 of them in the Senate, would have to reconcile approval of these two fronts of action.
Biden needs the unity of all Democrats, including leftists like Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders. This would be possible only by recognizing the significant social expenditure required for this segment of the party.
But it should also preserve the delicate agreement it made with Republican lawmakers in infrastructure projects, more traditional and more consensual.
For most American rights, even liberal ones, the idea of a new social spending is not necessary.
“$3.5 trillion in new spending is $3.5 trillion and we don’t have $3.5 trillion,” Republican Senator Mike Lee said.
This is not the first stimulus package from Biden, who has already launched a $1.9-rail emergency plan to respond to the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the philosophy of his mandate is at stake, this time under the motto of “Rebuild Better”.
The president wants to embrace the world’s largest economy’s fight against climate change. However, apart from the Arabs, it also regards it as an ideological struggle: of democracy, in which the United States will be the standard-bearer, against authoritarian regimes, with China at the fore.
In Biden’s view, this battle is certainly being fought at the diplomatic level, but with technological innovation and on a more realistic foundation of economic prosperity, especially for the middle class.
