US President Joe Biden is in frantic talks to rescue his landmark $3.5 trillion government overhaul plan. As polls show, the bill is a legislative lynchpin of the Biden presidency, and will decide the fate of his flagging popularity numbers ahead of the crucial mid-term polls in 2022. But, it is not getting done right now. Republicans are all opposed to the bill, with some claiming it is a ploy to "smuggle in socialism". Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema, two centrist Democrats, have gone against the legislation, stating concerns that Biden's overall bill is too big. After weeks of talks, Manchin said he could not yet compromise beyond a $1.5 trillion offer.
There is also an associated public works bill in play, one piece of a broader Biden vision—a $1 trillion investment in routine transportation, broadband, water systems and other projects bolstered with extra funding. It won bipartisan support in the Senate but has now become snared by the broader debate.
Sinema was similarly working to stave off criticism and her office said claims that she has not been forthcoming are false though she has not publicly disclosed her views over what size package she wants and has declined to answer questions about her position. Democrats' campaign promises on the line, progressive lawmakers were fuming, sparks flying at the holdout senators. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a progressive leader, pointed her criticism clear at Manchin's remarks. "Trying to kill your party's agenda is insanity. Not trying to make sure the president we all worked so hard to elect, his agenda pass, is insanity," she said.
Biden's bigger proposal is a years-in-the-making collection of Democratic priorities, a sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax and spending policies that would essentially raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy and plow that money back into government healthcare, education and other programs, touching the lives of countless Americans. Biden says the ultimate price tag is zero, because the tax revenue would cover the spending costs higher rates on businesses earning more than $5 million a year, and individuals earning more than $4,00,000 a year, or $4,50,000 for couples.
-Inputs from agencies
