Five lawmakers to watch ahead of key House budget vote

The House is expected to return to Washington this week to consider the Senate-approved budget resolution, and divisions among Democrats pose a challenge for swift passage.

Passing the budget resolution would pave the way for Democrats to pass a $ 3.5 trillion package later this year without any Republican votes. The broader bill, which has yet to be drafted, is expected to include spending in areas such as education, childcare, health care and the climate to advance much of the economy. President BidenJoe BidenBiden will address the nation on the evacuation of Afghanistan on Sunday afternoon, Pelosi said House was working to pass infrastructure bills by October 1. Facebook report reveals primary link within 3 months was to doctor who died after receiving COVID-19 vaccinethe agenda.

But a group of nine moderate House Democrats have threatened to vote against the budget resolution unless the chamber votes first on the bipartisan $ 1,000 billion infrastructure bill the Senate passed earlier. this month. Democratic leaders and progressives have said they want to delay passage of the infrastructure measure until the Senate passes the $ 3.5 trillion spending bill.

No Republican should vote for the budget resolution, and Democrats have a slim majority in the House, leaving little room for error.

Here are five key lawmakers to watch as the House considers the budget resolution.

Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiPelosi says House is working on passing infrastructure bills by October 1. (D-California)

Pelosi has been firm in his position that the House must vote on the budget resolution before the infrastructure bill. In recent days, she and other members of the Democratic leadership have repeatedly stressed their position with grassroots caucus lawmakers.

The President sees the $ 3.5 trillion spending bill that would be facilitated by the budget resolution as a key opportunity to implement many of the Democrats’ top priorities, including an extension of the expanded child tax credit and universal pre-kindergarten.

“Any delay in passing the budget resolution could threaten our ability to pass this essential legislation through reconciliation,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues last week.

Pelosi also argued that the swift passage of the budget resolution will allow the House to have more influence over the process of drafting the Democratic-only spending program. The bipartisan infrastructure bill, by contrast, was mostly crafted by a group of senators.

In an effort to try to get some moderates to buy into his approach, Pelosi asked the House to vote this week on a rule that advances the budget resolution, the infrastructure package and a human rights bill. vote, although a vote on the final adoption of the infrastructure measure would come later. Pelosi stressed Biden’s support for the rule, but the proposal did not immediately satisfy the nine lawmakers who want a quick vote on infrastructure.

In a letter to colleagues on Saturday, Pelosi said she wanted both the infrastructure bill and the Democratic bill only enacted by October 1.

While Pelosi is a skilled politician who has been successful in securing the votes for key agenda items in the past, it remains to be seen whether she will be able to get enough moderates to vote for the budget resolution without a prior vote on the bill on infrastructure.

representing Josh gottheimerJoshua (Josh) GottheimerPelosi says House is working on passing infrastructure bills by October 1. (DN.J.)

Gottheimer was the leader of the group of moderates calling for an immediate vote on infrastructure.

The New Jersey Democrat, who is co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solver Caucus and a member of the Blue Dog Coalition of Centrist Democrats, argues that a quick vote on the infrastructure bill would demonstrate that Congress is capable of raising challenges the nation on a bipartite basis.

A vote on infrastructure “would show the big push the country needs, that we could actually govern together,” Gottheimer said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Last week.

Gottheimer also touted business and union support for the infrastructure bill.

But it will be difficult for Gottheimer to persuade leaders to schedule a vote on passing the infrastructure bill this week.

representing Pramila JayapalPramila Jayapal Moderates revolt against infrastructure in new challenge for Pelosi Moderates pledge to freeze budget to secure infrastructure funding It’s now Pelosi’s decision on bipartisan road bill MORE (D-Washing.)

Jayapal is chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), which strongly supports the vote on the budget resolution ahead of the infrastructure bill.

CPC said earlier this month that after polling the 96 members, a majority said it would pledge not to vote ‘yes’ on the infrastructure bill until the Senate passes the reserved spending bill to Democrats.

Jayapal and other progressives see the $ 1 trillion infrastructure package as limited in scope compared to the final measure of $ 3.5 trillion. They want Congress to address a number of priorities that the budget resolution seeks to facilitate, including funding for the fight against climate change, expanding health insurance, investing in affordable housing and a path to citizenship for millions of people.

“The American people have handed over the House, Senate and White House to us not only to improve roads and bridges, but also to improve their daily lives,” Jayapal said in a statement following the passage by the United States. Senate budget resolution. “We can do that by using this moment of governance to ensure that President Biden’s full agenda is delivered.”

If Democratic leaders gave moderates an immediate vote on the infrastructure bill, they would risk angering progressives and losing many of their votes on the bipartisan measure, which would win the support of some House Republicans. .

representing Peter DeFazioPeter Anthony DeFazio Anti-abortion group targets Democrats before 2022 House Democrats press leaders to include more funding for electric vehicles in spending plan (Golden.)

DeFazio, who is chairman of the House Transport and Infrastructure Committee, criticized the infrastructure bill passed by the Senate, saying it is not doing enough to tackle climate change. He now hopes his climate priorities are included in the Democratic package only.

In a letter to his colleagues last week, DeFazio urged them to pass the budget resolution quickly to ensure that House members are more involved in drafting the Democrats-only spending bill.

“Giving a voice in the House requires all members of the House Democratic caucus to work together and take the first step – pass a budget resolution so that we can bring forward a House reconciliation bill that elevates the priorities of the House. the House, ”DeFazio wrote.

DeFazio’s committee is one of many House panels that will be involved in crafting the $ 3.5 trillion measure. He, other chairmen of relevant committees and House Democratic leaders attended a virtual meeting with Biden on Thursday to discuss possible legislation.

Representative Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)

If Democratic leaders are to achieve their goal of passing the budget resolution this week and waiting to pass the infrastructure bill, they will need to ensure that some of the nine moderates who have threatened to vote against the budget resolution finally vote for the measure.

One lawmaker to watch as Pelosi tries to get votes is Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas who is among the more moderate House Democrats but who is also close to Pelosi. Next year he faces a main challenge from Jessica Cisneros, a progressive who lost to him in the 2020 Democratic primary by just over 3 percentage points.

Besides Gottheimer and Cuellar, other moderate Democrats who have pushed for a vote on the infrastructure bill before a vote on the budget resolution are the representatives. Filemon VelaFilemon Bartolome VelaUS Chamber of Commerce backs Democrats threatening to derail budget resolution Pelosi launches procedural decision on infrastructure bill Moderate infrastructure revolt in new challenge for Pelosi MORE (Texas), Case EdEdward (Ed) CasePLUS (Hawaii), Kurt schraderWalter (Kurt) Kurt Schrader US Chamber of Commerce backs Democrats threatening to derail budget resolution Pelosi launches procedural decision on infrastructure bill Investing in low-emission energy is key to climate crisis MORE (Oregon), Carolyn Bourdeaux (Ga.), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas) and Jim costaJames (Jim) Manuel Costa US Chamber of Commerce backs Democrats threatening to derail budget resolution Pelosi launches procedural decision on infrastructure bill Moderate revolt against infrastructure poses new challenge for Pelosi MORE (California).

The nine moderate Democrats issued a press release on Friday in which each of them made statements reiterating their support for a quick vote on the infrastructure bill.

“It is only rational that we move this bill forward now,” Cuellar said in his statement. “Americans are ready to get back to work and we must seize this historic opportunity to pass infrastructure law once in a generation – a rare example of broad-based bipartite and bicameral support. “