Reports about the demise of President Joe Biden’s $2.4 trillion social spending bill are greatly exaggerated, a member of the House Democratic leadership said Wednesday.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York told reporters at the Capitol he does not believe Biden’s Build Back Better plan is dead, despite opposition from Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia in the evenly divided Senate.
The comments come the day after Manchin told reporters there are “no organized conversations going on” surrounding the legislation, which includes key portions of Biden’s domestic agenda. Manchin made his opposition to the size and scope of the bill clear during negotiations and said shortly before Christmas that he would not support it.
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The legislation passed the House but is currently stalled in the Senate.
Asked about the status of the legislation and if House Democrats who passed the bill are frustrated, Jeffries said, “I don’t believe that Build Back Better is dead.”
“The Senate will have to work through its dynamics,” Jeffries said. He added that House Democrats are focused on passing the America COMPETES Act, which he argued will address supply chain and “inflationary issues that the American people are dealing with.”
Without Manchin’s support, there is no clear path forward for the legislation in the Senate, where Democrats seek to pass the bill using a process called budget reconciliation, which would allow them to do so with only 51 votes. Without Manchin, they could not do so, as no Republicans support the bill.
“The Senate dynamics will work itself out,” Jeffries added. “But I think right in front of us right now is the America COMPETES Act.”
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Asked if Democratic messaging will continue to center on Build Back Better, Jeffries fell back on a party slogan, telling reporters, “Democrats will continue to deliver for the people.”
