Centrist Democratic lawmakers on Friday demanded an immediate vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill — and vowed they won’t back President Biden’s $3.5 trillion plan if they don’t get their way.
The nine moderates, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), threatened to scuttle the bigger package unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) brings up the $1.2 trillion public works bill for a final vote first.
“It’s time to get shovels in the ground and people to work,” the letter to Pelosi stated.
It was the latest salvo in a Democrats-only game of political chicken that threatens to derail Biden’s two-track push to enact both bills.
A much larger group of progressive Democrats insist they will only vote for the smaller plan in tandem with the bigger one, which won’t be ready for a vote till next month at the earliest.
Democratic leaders including Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have mostly sided with the progressives on the timing of the votes, although they appear open to scaling back the bigger bill to placate moderates in both the House and Senate.
The Senate passed the $1.2 trillion bill in a 69-30 vote, also approving a placeholder budget bill that would open the door to the $3.5 trillion measure in a party-line tally.
The House could at any time approve the smaller package, which has been billed as a once-in-a-generation effort to fix America’s crumbling roads, airports, bridges and railroads. It would then go to Biden’s desk for his signature.
The nine moderates say they will not vote to advance the bigger package until the bipartisan bill is signed by Biden. With just a three-vote majority in the House, Democrats need their support to pass the budget measure.
Progressives fear moderates will yank support for the bigger bill once they get their way on the smaller one.
It’s unclear how big a snag the letter may cause Democrats as they seek to win passage of both the bipartisan bill and the much bigger so-called “human infrastructure” package, which includes huge new spending for education, health care and aid to families.
©2021 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
—-
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
I hope the whole damned thing blows up.
The traitorous “Infrastructure Bill” is nothing but a socialist Democrat Party Con and Deception.
95% of the money goes to the Democrat Party’s socialist takeover advancement agenda.
This ” Infrastructure Billwhich was passed by 18 , ” Rino , ” Republican brought the ” Never Trumpers , ” and the assortment of Turncoats who couldn’ Wait to join with their Comrades who followed Nancy Pelosi and Burnie Sanders, and Chuck Schumber’s ” You will Obey Comrades, ” orders. The Two figures though who Stood out from all the other ” Rinos were Sen. Mitch McConald , Collins, and Lindsey Grayham from all of the other ” Rino Republicans ” because they they shouted frim the roof tkps that there was no way that they were ever going to help those democrats Pass just a Loaded Bogus bill but they couldn’t wait to vote along with their Conrades it turned out. Maybe those ” Rino, ” Republicans remembered what Nancy Pelosi said, about Obama Care, ” You have to pass it to know Whats In It. ” Alexander Hamilton once said, ” the Natural Cure For an ill Admuistration , In A popular or Representative Constitution Is a Change of Men . “
ITS gotten to the point, if an ASTEROID flew in out of nowhere, and UTTERLY LEVELED the entire city of DC, NOT ONLY Wouldn’t i shed a single tear, for all the loss of life, but i would actually be out in the streets, DANCING AND CELEBRATING!
“The nine moderates”? There are no “moderate” Democrats. The so called “moderate” Democrats are all communists. There are no “moderate” communists.
Just like there’s no moderate muslim. THEY ARE ALL Radical!
Its about time the sane moderate Democrrats left in the party which outnumber the squad by 4 to one stop getting led through the nose like sheep and they discipline and put down the foolish minority who uses blackmail to run the operation. Just how does 10% radical wings control where the other 90% part of the vulture defecates?
WHAT sane ones! If they were sane, they wouldn’t BE In the commucrat party!
One of the things that really stuck with me throughout the years was the speech the audioanimetronic Abe Lincoln said at the exhibit in Disneyland. (Back in the days when Disney hadn’t degenerated to the dark side.) He asserted that America would never be conquered by an over seas giant or words to that effect. Instead, our demise would come from within. Truer words were never spoken. And as proof we have the audioanimetronic Joe Biden and his puppeteers who pull his strings and program his movements. NOTHING Biden and his Bolsheviks have implemented have benefited anyone other than the enemies of America.