House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters during her weekly press conference on Thursday that “chunks” of President Joe Biden’s stalled $2 trillion Build Back Better package may be renamed to ensure the legislation would pass before the 2022 midterms.
Pelosi acknowledged she “may have to rename” the package to accommodate Biden’s thinking that the package should be passed in “chunks” instead of one lump sum. “Chunks’ is an interesting word,” Pelosi said about Biden’s comments on Wednesday. “What the president calls ‘chunks’ I hope would be a major bill going forward. It may be more limited, but it is still significant.”
Passing big money items is the key for Democrats to prevent Republicans from sweeping the November midterms, reports have revealed.
Pelosi also stressed the Build Back Better bill is a reconciliation package and is, therefore, subject to certain procedural constraints that overcome the threshold of 60 Senate votes. The fast-tracking procedural constraints only allow items that impact the fiscal budget.
“This is a reconciliation bill,” she explained. “So when people say, ‘Let’s divide it up,’ they don’t understand the process.”
Pelosi relayed that funding for global warming, free Pre-K, and Obamacare repairs may work in a much smaller reconciliation “chunk.” Those measures would also reportedly be supported by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a needed vote in a 50/50 Senate:
Democrats have indicated they will continually attempt to pass large spending items to galvanize their base in hopes of winning the midterm elections.
Reports from the establishment media have also revealed Senate Democrats may attempt to pass another costly $68 billion stimulus package. Establishment Senate Republicans are reportedly jointly negotiating with Democrats on the matter.
