House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed ahead with a plan to vote on a bipartisan infrastructure package despite significant opposition from liberals who say they will block it.
“We are on the path to win the vote,” Pelosi said. “I don’t want to consider any option other than that.”
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The measure faces steep opposition from the left wing of her caucus, who are awaiting an elusive agreement among House and Senate Democrats on a massive social welfare spending and tax increase package.
Pelosi said she believes she can convince liberals to first pass the infrastructure bill and then proceed with negotiation on the larger package.
“We had a great morning,” Pelosi said, describing talks with members of her caucus. “Lots of conversations, as we come to the end.”
Pelosi’s optimism defies firm pledges from House liberals that they have the numbers to block the bill.
House Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal told reporters more than half the 95-member group will vote against the infrastructure bill unless they see a framework agreement from Senate Democrats on the larger measure.
The group wants a guarantee that House and Senate Democrats will agree to pass the social welfare bill, which comes with a price tag of $3.5 trillion and would pay for an array of new government programs and entitlements.
But Senate Democrats can’t come up with a deal thanks to opposition from centrist Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Manchin issued a scathing statement on Wednesday condemning the $3.5 trillion measure as “fiscal insanity” funded with “vindictive” taxes.
Shortly after House Democrats learned of Manchin’s statement, they pledged even steeper opposition.
Jayapal said Manchin’s statement “has created a bunch more votes on the House floor” against the infrastructure bill.
Manchin and Sinema have each met with President Joe Biden to try to strike a deal on the bill. Both lawmakers want to reduce the cost and change the policies in the measure. Manchin said he wants to negotiate the measure over the next several months and focus on reforming the tax code.
Neither seems ready to reach the kind of framework agreement House liberals say they need in exchange for their “yes” vote on infrastructure.
Pelosi wouldn’t reveal her negotiating tactics but described the process of passing both bills along a pathway, which starts with passing the infrastructure bill.
“Our best interest is passing the bill today,” she said, but added, “I wish we had more time. We are having to compress a lot of our discussion here.”
Democrats set the vote for this week because the infrastructure bill includes a provision reauthorizing federal highway funding, which expires on Thursday.
If the infrastructure measure fails, the House and Senate will have to pass a stopgap highway authorization bill, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, said.
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Pelosi said she plans to convince holdouts to vote for the infrastructure package.
“You cannot tire. You cannot concede,” she told reporters. “This is the fun part.”
