Biden signs bill to avoid government shutdown but to-do list still long: NPR
Jose Luis Magana / AP
President Biden signed laws to keep the government funded through February 18, clearing the way for Congress to focus on its fraught year-end to-do list.
Congress has less than three weeks to resolve the differences that have plagued both parties all year.
Lawmakers are juggling items to pass, like the resolution of the nation’s debt agency and the annual defense authorization package, along with major political priorities for Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., has pledged to vote before Christmas on President Biden’s roughly $2 trillion Rebuild Better bill.
“I’ve said many times before that no one should expect legislation to this extent to be easy,” Schumer said this week on the Senate floor. “We’ve been on the job for a few months, but we need to take a step back and realize that we’re hoping in less than a month to make the largest investment in Americans we’ve ever seen.” for generations.”
That act, which includes large investments in social safety nets and programs to address climate change, passed the House last month. Senate Democrats are currently awaiting a review from a nonpartisan Senate member before they can finalize a version of the bill.
Democrats have chosen to use a tool in the budget process, called reconciliation, to try to get through Biden’s spending program without risking the GOP. That process comes with strict rules, including the requirement that all elements of the measure have a significant budget impact.
Senate leaders have warned that some policies that were included in the House version, like a plan to tackle the nation’s immigration law, could be removed from the bill during consideration.
When that work is done, Democrats will have to continue to negotiate with skeptic centrists. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema D-Ariz., people have raised concerns about everything from the overall cost of the bill to some specific policies, such as paid leave.
Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans will have to work to resolve their differences on amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act and plan increase debt limit.