Will Democrats Agree On How To Pay For Biden's Budget Bill? Schumer, Pelosi Announce Framework

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Thursday that the Senate reached an agreement on a framework for the budget reconciliation bill, which seeks to expand the social safety net as part of President Joe Biden's economic agenda.

The legislation would include funding for many policy items such as expanding Medicare, combating climate change, providing paid leave, free community college, and universal pre-K.

“The White House, the House, and the Senate have reached an agreement on a framework that will pay for any final negotiated agreement. So the revenue side of this, we have an agreement on,” Schumer said.

Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., met with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and reached an agreement that will present “a menu of options” of how to pay for the bill, according to Schumer.

Pelosi called the new framework “an agreement on how we can consider, go forward in a way to pay for this.”

"We have a consensus overwhelmingly — maybe 10 to 1, 20 to 1 — within our caucus as to these priorities, but we wanted to make sure it was paid for,” Pelosi said.

According to a senior Democratic aide familiar with the agreement, the deal does not include a top-line revenue number, nor a final price tag for the agreement.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Wednesday that Biden urged a group of moderate Democrats to come up with a desired price tag for the bill so it could be negotiated.

"He just basically said find a number you’re comfortable with,” Manchin said, adding that Biden’s message was to “please just work on it. Give me a number.”

Manchin told reporters that Biden didn’t give him a hard deadline for when moderates needed to turn over a number.

“The quicker the better, but I’m not sure if they’re going to get there,” Manchin said.

Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have both said they do not support the current price tag of $3.5 trillion.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has remained adamant that the bill should not be watered down, telling reporters that “the top line has come down. It started at $6 trillion.”

Sanders reportedly has not been briefed on the details of the agreement.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., discussed the revenue-raising proposals that could be used to fund the bill. "The president is going to have conversations with the Speaker and the Senate majority leader, and they're going to talk about what's the full range of possibilities," Wyden said.

House progressives such as Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., have threatened to kill the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill if the reconciliation bill does not pass the Senate. The bill is scheduled for a House vote on Monday.