Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has previewed a Wednesday vote on the bipartisan infrastructure legislation and set the same day as a deadline for his party to settle on what will be in its $3.5 trillion reconciliation plan. We’ll be following what lawmakers say as they make the rounds today.
Somehow, I get the feeling the GQP will not be reconciled with.
Call it a hunch.
Yeah, sure. “Too soon! Too fast!” We all knew that none of the Republicans would vote for the infrastructure mini-bill they had negotiated. And excuses are easy-peasy to find or fabricate. It’s always the Democrat Party’s fault! Not bipartisan! The journos always eat it up. The refs stay worked.
The Dems work in good faith while the GQP plays games…again. Your hunch is right on. And anyone paying attention knows it. They are not honest brokers. Lucy and the football is their game and has been on anything important that would help the citizens of this country.
Shorter Cassidy: “After pulling away the football, we will knock the golf ball off the tee, and then we will pitch to you while you use our balsa wood bat…”
I am quite confused about the assertion that the bill “isn’t done yet”. What precisely does that mean? When you vote you vote on the text in a particular document, not in approval of a general idea with details to be worked out later. Is the voting referred to an earlier procedural step? Is the unfinished part that republicans don’t like what the bill says and would like to re-write it?
Critiques of Chuck Schumer generally do not center around his impulsiveness or disregard for senate rules. So if he’s bringing something to a vote, I have to believe that the bill is a formally complete and properly formatted piece of legislation
And if, as expected, the GQP balks at the end, we pass as much as we can through the reconciliation package. Let them tell the country why they voted against making peoples’ lives better.
I am confused as well, if the bill is incomplete how can it be brought to the floor? That said, Republicans get their marching orders from Mitch and McConnell wants to run out the clock. It does not matter if the bill is good for the country. He will obstruct this all day every day.
The vote next Wednesday, is a procedural vote to begin debate. The legislative language is supposed to be completed by then.
And if the rethugs wont vote to begin debate on the “bipartisan” bill f them and throw it all into a package with the reconciliation bill.
As best as I can tell, the reactionaries are gonna find an ‘offramp’ if they want it, even if it has to be, “We can’t vote for legislation negotiated while Mercury is retrograde: it’s a bad omen.”
Trying to second guess them is problematic; although, the odds strongly favor their being in bad faith.
The more the Bill is publicly talked about the more people have an idea of (likeable) stuff that’s in it.
That being said some details on PRO are starting to trickle out: the reconciliation bill will reportedly allow the National Labor Relations Board to impose monetary penalties on companies that violate labor rights.
This would be a very good thing.
I just keep feeling it will be Lucy and the football ONE MORE TIME. They take their time pondering and then ‘decide’ to not go with it and we have to start over.
I would remove the clawback provisions, wherein all of next year’s American Rescue Plan payments are diverted to this new bill and the states stiffed. Make it up with tax increases on those who can best afford it.
The infrastructure debate has been going on in Congress for at least four months now, not to mention that infrastructure legislation of some kind has been under discussion for years and years already. The obvious goal of the GOP is to prevent progress. They didn’t even get on this when Trump was in power. Now they are saying slow down, it’s all happening too fast?
Fine, then you don’t get to go home for August recess until you work it out.
Bills are always incomplete, if you consider the fact they can be amended during the process of floor debate. They’re only ‘complete’ when the voting starts.
“Democrats have been wary from the beginning that Republicans are just trying to string them along for as long as possible (a la the Affordable Care Act) before ultimately jumping ship.”
Wary??? How many times do they need to see this movie? The plot and outcome are always the same.
Lifting a major roadblock that prevents people from going to work would, in theory, at least somewhat mollify Republicans’ complaints that strengthening the social safety net would lead to people getting lazy and staying home…but instead they’ve argued that “normal people” don’t want it because of reasons and also something about Joseph Stalin:
My wife and I lived in the Bay Area for 15 years. We moved eight years ago after having our daughter and daycare was going to cost us $1700 a month. At that time our rent was $1480.
Later, when I found a job in the Seattle area, the offer would have paid me $27 (yes, $27) more dollars, before taxes, then daycare for my daughter was going to cost. I ended up being a freelance, on occasion, stay at home dad for two years.
We now live near Seattle and our son has now started preschool (part time) and that still costs $400 a month. How anyone can think this is a sustainable model for families is deranged. Even overly cruel Republican voters should see this.