Biden makes $1.75T sales pitch to House Democrats

Biden makes $1.75T sales pitch to House Democrats-rollcall:  President Joe Biden presented House Democrats with a $1.75 trillion reconciliation framework Thursday morning, which senior administration officials said he'll ask them to support when it’s written and ready for a vote, along with a separate Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill.

White House releases $1.75T framework for budget package

White House releases $1.75T framework for budget package-rollcall:  President Joe Biden will try to sell Capitol Hill Democrats on a reconciliation package totaling $1.75 trillion over a decade with $555 billion in spending and tax breaks for clean energy investment, $400 billion for child care and universal prekindergarten, and hundreds of billions of dollars for health care coverage, affordable housing, home care for seniors and more. 

Latino Dems lean on Padilla to pump up midterm turnout

Latino Dems lean on Padilla to pump up midterm turnout-politico:  Democrats are counting on a top California officeholder to help them flip Latino-heavy congressional districts in next year’s midterm elections: Sen. Alex Padilla.

Democrats eye Medicare Advantage as potential reconciliation offset

Democrats eye Medicare Advantage as potential reconciliation offset-rollcall:  Democrats are considering payment reductions for private Medicare Advantage plans to help offset the cost of a multitrillion-dollar budget bill, according to three sources with knowledge of the talks, triggering a lobbying fight from the insurer

Billionaire tax gains momentum

Billionaire tax gains momentum-thehill:  Democrats are facing hurdles to making a new annual tax on billionaires’ investment gains a reality.  The proposal, championed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), is seen as a way to help pay for the party’s social spending package while accommodating Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-AZ) opposition to raising tax rates.

Economic growth helps cut fiscal 2021 deficit to $2.8 trillion

Economic growth helps cut fiscal 2021 deficit to $2.8 trillion-rollcall:  Surging tax revenues as the U.S. economy rebounded from the coronavirus-driven downturn helped reduce the budget deficit for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the Treasury Department and White House budget office announced Friday.

Two-year spending caps deal on the table in appropriations talks

Two-year spending caps deal on the table in appropriations talks-rollcall: Top Senate appropriators on Thursday didn’t rule out negotiating two years’ worth of spending levels rather than allocations just for this year, in line with budget caps deals lawmakers have struck going back to 2013.

Down to the wire on budget bill as Democrats haggle over details

Down to the wire on budget bill as Democrats haggle overdetails-rollcall: Democrats on Wednesday dived into the push-pull phase of their spending and tax negotiations in hopes of reaching agreement on the broad contours of a budget reconciliation package in the $2 trillion ballpark as soon as this week.

Dems edge closer to ditching disarray

Dems edge closer to ditching disarray-politico: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer’s strategy to force through Democrats’ domestic agenda flamed out spectacularly in September. They’re ready to try it all over again.

Senate Democrats unveil remaining fiscal 2022 spending bills

Senate Democrats unveil remaining fiscal 2022 spending bills-rollcall:  Senate Democrats released nine remaining appropriations bills in an effort to jump-start bipartisan talks, though the funding levels don’t dedicate as much to defense as the GOP would like and would eliminate a ban on federal funding for abortion.

Buttigieg warns some supply chain problems will persist into 2022

Buttigieg warns some supply chain problems will persist into 2022-politico:  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that the Biden administration is working to alleviate the ongoing supply chain squeeze while acknowledging some strains will persist for months.

Global tax deal could drive changes in Democrats’ budget plan

Global tax deal could drive changes in Democrats’ budget plan-rollcall:  As they work to raise taxes on U.S. companies doing business abroad, Democrats are considering honing some details to align with a landmark deal for other countries to charge similar levies and curb tax avoidance in the process.

Supply chain logjam poses question: Can Biden save Christmas?

Supply chain logjam poses question: Can Biden save Christmas?-rollcall: The tangled U.S. supply chain, which has left U.S. ports snarled with traffic and threatens the holiday season, is drawing federal attention, and experts warn the problem may not be solved this year.

White House will open US land borders to vaccinated travelers

White House will open US land borders to vaccinated travelers-rollcall: The White House announced it will open U.S. land borders to fully vaccinated travelers in early November, ending more than a year of pandemic-related travel restrictions.

Slow progress on budget package with deadline weeks away

Slow progress on budget package with deadline weeks away-rollcall:  As the Senate headed into a weeklong recess, Democrats showed little sign they were making progress on their economic agenda other than clearing the must-pass measures competing for their time.

Biden restores monument borders, drawing Utah Republicans’ ire

Biden restores monument borders, drawing Utah Republicans’ ire-rollcall: The Biden administration said it would restore the boundaries of three national monuments Trump shrank during his term in office, hewing to a campaign promise and heeding pressure from environmental, conservation and indigenous advocates.

Slow progress on budget package with deadline weeks away

Slow progress on budget package with deadline weeks away-rollcall:  As the Senate prepared to head into a weeklong recess, Democrats showed little sign they were making progress on their economic agenda other than clearing the must-pass measures competing for their time.

Democrats, Republicans agree to short-term debt limit increase

Democrats, Republicans agree to short-term debt limit increase-rollcall: Senate leaders reached a bipartisan agreement Wednesday to defuse the impending debt limit crisis by allowing for a short-term increase in the statutory borrowing cap while lawmakers negotiate a longer-term solution.

Biden’s new health challenge: Find another Francis Collins

Biden’s new health challenge: Find another Francis Collins-politico:  National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins was that rare Washington figure whose clout transcended presidential administrations and frequent power shifts in Congress — more so during a public health crisis.

Biden plots debt ceiling blitz to focus the blame on McConnell

Biden plots debt ceiling blitz to focus the blame on McConnell-politico:  After months of playing it cool on the debt ceiling, the White House has quickly begun to turn the screws on Republicans in an attempt to shift blame for the financial brinkmanship squarely onto Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Newsom signs #FreeBritney bill to help reform conservatorship laws

Newsom signs #FreeBritney bill to help reform conservatorship laws-politico:  Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law the so-called #FreeBritney bill, legislation designed to reform the state’s legal guardianship laws that critics say have led to the exploitation of many Californians, including pop star Britney Spears.

Biden plays for time on infrastructure, larger budget package

Biden plays for time on infrastructure, larger budget package-rollcall:  President Joe Biden told House Democrats to hold off on his bipartisan infrastructure bill until they reach agreement on a scaled-back partisan tax and spending package funding the rest of his economic agenda.

Pelosi delays infrastructure vote as Democrats struggle to reach deal

Pelosi delays infrastructure vote as Democrats struggle to reach deal-politico:  Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed off a planned vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill late Thursday after top Democrats in the House, Senate and the White House failed to reach a deal to pass the legislation.