Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Biden: Budget Talks Hit 'Stalemate,' $3.5T May Take a While
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
September 24, 2021

Share

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Friday that talks over his $3.5 trillion rebuilding plan have hit a “stalemate” in Congress as he made the case for his expansive effort to recast the nation’s tax and spending programs and make what he sees as sweeping, overdue investments.

Biden spoke at the White House as Democrats in the House and Senate are laboring to finish drafts and overcome differences between the party’s centrist and moderate factions. Despite efforts by the president and congressional leaders to show progress, Biden cast the road ahead as long and potentially cumbersome, even with upcoming deadlines.

“We’re getting down to the hard spot here,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “We’re at this stalemate at the moment.”

Biden said the process is “going to be up and down” but ”hopefully at the end of the day I’ll be able to deliver on what I said I would do.”

Biden Suggests Talks Could Drag to End of the Year

The president said his private meetings with some two dozen Democratic lawmakers this week in efforts to hasten progress and close the deal went well — describing the tone as collegial and with “no hollering.”

But as lawmakers raised objections over the sweep and scope of the plan, which is to be funded by higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, Biden said he tried to get them focused on priorities — what they can and can’t live with.

”It’s about paying your fair share, for lord’s sake,” Biden said. “There clearly is enough, from a panoply of options, to pay for whatever it is.”

In a stark reality check, Biden suggested talks could drag to the end of the year. “It’s just going to take some time,” he said.

Democrats Work to Close Deal Without Republican Support

Congress is racing toward a deadline Monday for a test vote on the first part of his package, a $1 trillion public works bill that has become snared in the broader debate. With Republicans lockstep against Biden’s entire plan, Democrats must heft the votes to passage on their own, with slim majority control of the House and Senate that allows for no defections.

At the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said both bills are moving forward.

“It is my intention to bring our bills to the floor when we are ready,” she said.

Lawmakers are working nonstop and Biden is facing pressure to close the deal. Pelosi was meeting Friday at the Capitol with her leadership team, and the Budget Committee is planning a rare Saturday session to draft the package.

Biden’s Plan Dependent on Increased Taxes for the Wealthy

Biden’s big vision over his “Build Back Better” campaign promise proposes expanding health, education and federal programs, with more services for Americans of all ages, while investing heavily in efforts to tackle climate change. All this would be paid for largely by hiking tax rates on corporations and wealthy individuals, those earning beyond $400,000 a year, or $450,000 for married couples.

But centrist Democrats see the overall price tag as too much, while progressive lawmakers are hesitant to compromise any further after already having dropped even more ambitious ideas.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024

DON'T MISS

CHP K-9 Seizes 50 Pounds of Illicit Mushrooms in Fresno County

DON'T MISS

Saint Agnes to Expand Teaching for Clovis Med School Students

DON'T MISS

Belarus Releases 3 People, Including an American and a Jailed Journalist

DON'T MISS

Need Down Payment Help? Fresno Housing Has $25K for First-Time Homebuyers

DON'T MISS

Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News

DON'T MISS

Bredefeld Wants Less Scrutiny for Supervisors’ Discretionary Budget. Pacheco Calls It ‘Ironic.’

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Gabbard as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence

DON'T MISS

President Trump and Putin Have Agreed to Start Negotiations to End the Ukraine War

DON'T MISS

Google Calendar Users No Longer See Default Entries for Events Like Pride, Black History Month

UP NEXT

Protests Planned in All 50 States for Presidents’ Day Against Trump Administration

UP NEXT

This Isn’t the Donald Trump America Elected

UP NEXT

Where Will Californians Rally During Nationwide Protest Against Trump Administration?

UP NEXT

Protests in All 50 States Against Trump’s Administration on Wednesday

UP NEXT

Elon Musk’s DOGE Gains Access to Social Security, Medicare Payments

UP NEXT

California Projected to Lose Congressional Seats While Texas, Florida Gain

UP NEXT

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

UP NEXT

The Big Chill: Siberian Air to Make Trump Swearing-in Coldest in 40 Years

UP NEXT

US Population Projections Shrink From Last Year Because of Declining Birth Rates, Less Immigration

UP NEXT

IRS Issues Stimulus Payments Again. Who Is Getting Them?

Belarus Releases 3 People, Including an American and a Jailed Journalist

1 hour ago

Need Down Payment Help? Fresno Housing Has $25K for First-Time Homebuyers

1 hour ago

Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News

2 hours ago

Bredefeld Wants Less Scrutiny for Supervisors’ Discretionary Budget. Pacheco Calls It ‘Ironic.’

2 hours ago

Senate Confirms Gabbard as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence

3 hours ago

President Trump and Putin Have Agreed to Start Negotiations to End the Ukraine War

4 hours ago

Google Calendar Users No Longer See Default Entries for Events Like Pride, Black History Month

4 hours ago

Apple Changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps

4 hours ago

Kevin Durant Becomes 8th in NBA History to Score 30,000 Points

4 hours ago

Too Few Tents Entering Gaza Threatens the Truce. Here’s What’s Happening

4 hours ago

The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024

Last year marked a grim milestone for journalists worldwide. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 2024 was the deadliest...

34 minutes ago

34 minutes ago

The Deadly Truth: Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024

A CHP K-9 seized 50 pounds of illicit mushrooms worth $80,000 during a traffic stop on I-5 in Fresno County, leading to the arrest of Phillip Yoon, 35, of Hayward. (CHP)
1 hour ago

CHP K-9 Seizes 50 Pounds of Illicit Mushrooms in Fresno County

1 hour ago

Saint Agnes to Expand Teaching for Clovis Med School Students

1 hour ago

Belarus Releases 3 People, Including an American and a Jailed Journalist

1 hour ago

Need Down Payment Help? Fresno Housing Has $25K for First-Time Homebuyers

2 hours ago

Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News

2 hours ago

Bredefeld Wants Less Scrutiny for Supervisors’ Discretionary Budget. Pacheco Calls It ‘Ironic.’

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP/John McDonnell)
3 hours ago

Senate Confirms Gabbard as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend