Topline
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he plans to “make it hard” for Senate Democrats to use budget reconciliation – a process that allows the majority to bypass the minority on certain bills – to pass trillion-dollar spending bills on their own.
Key Facts
McConnell said in Kentucky there is a process in which Democrats can pass a bill “without a single Republican,” but, he added, “We're gonna make it hard for them."
McConnell hinted at appealing to the “few Democrats left in rural America” and centrist who “may find this offensive,” likely referencing Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).
Top Democrats have looked to a large reconciliation bill to appease progressives who see the bipartisan $2 trillion infrastructure deal as insufficient.
McConnell noted “not a single” GOP senator voted for the $1.9 trillion relief bill President Joe Biden signed in March, but said Kentucky communities will get “a lot more money.”
McConnell blamed the stimulus spending for rising inflation and labor shortages, urging localities to “spend it wisely” because “hopefully, this windfall doesn’t come along again.”
Key Background
McConnell has made a habit of positioning himself as the chief obstructionist for Democratic administrations. In 2010 he said Republicans’ “top political priority” should be to “deny President Obama a second term in office.” Many Democrats saw echoes of that statement when, in May, McConnell declared, “100% of my focus is on stopping this new administration.”
Big Number
$6 trillion. That’s roughly the size of Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) reconciliation proposal, which would tie in elements of Biden’s American Families Plan as well as expansions of Medicare. Manchin has dismissed Sanders’ proposal, however, stating last month, “I have a hard time swallowing that.”
What To Watch For
Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will have to walk a narrow tightrope in the coming months as they attempt to keep Republicans on board with the bipartisan infrastructure deal while crafting a reconciliation plan that appeases both progressive and moderate Democrats without scaring off Republicans.
The Link LonkJuly 07, 2021 at 04:30AM
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/07/06/mcconnell-vows-to-make-it-hard-for-democrats-to-pass-reconciliation-bill/
McConnell Vows To ‘Make It Hard’ For Democrats To Pass Reconciliation Bill - Forbes
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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