All eyes are now on the House regarding the pair of bills that would make up the bulk of US President Joe Biden’s agenda. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned Congress that this week would be “a time of intensity” as they look to pass both bills by the end of the month.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter to the Democratic caucus, Pelosi said that they have one week to pass both the budget resolution and the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was previously passed by the Senate. The House speaker added that passing both bills is key to bringing forward Biden’s agenda. Pelosi also announced that the caucus would be meeting Monday.
“We must pass the BIF to avoid the expiration of the surface transportation funding, on September 30. And we must stay on schedule to pass the reconciliation bill so that we can Build Back Better,” Pelosi wrote. “The Build Back Better Act is a jobs bill for the future: addressing the empowerment of women in the workplace and creating good-paying green jobs by tackling the climate crisis. The jobs initiatives relating to child care, home health care, paid family and medical leave, universal pre-K, and more are transformative.”
This also comes as Pelosi is looking to make good on her promise to the centrist House Democrats who have threatened to withhold their votes for the budget resolution if the infrastructure bill is not passed before the end of the month.
Meanwhile, Pelosi ripped into the Republicans for refusing to help the Democrats pass a bill that would raise the debt ceiling, calling their tactics “irresponsible.” The GOP and the Democratic Party are at odds over the raising of the debt limit to fund the government before the fiscal year ends Thursday. The US Treasury is also speculated to run out of money to pay its debts by late October or early November, which could put the government at risk for default.
Republican lawmakers like Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell have opposed the legislation and have threatened to filibuster the bill, citing that it would include a temporary suspension of the debt limit. McConnell also cited the several spending proposals that Democrats are set to pass this week, the strategy of the GOP has since been backed by twice-impeached former President Donald Trump.