On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Last Word,” Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) discussed a meeting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had with her caucus earlier in the day and stated that Pelosi will hold the bipartisan infrastructure bill and not bring it up for a vote until the budget reconciliation vote is ready to be voted on.
Host Lawrence O’Donnell asked, “What can you tell us about that meeting with Speaker Pelosi?”
Porter responded, “Well, I think she made clear that we are wholly committed to passing this infrastructure bill, that we are glad that Republicans are stepping up and committing to delivering for the American people on infrastructure, and that we understand that part of building back better is doing that infrastructure work, but building back better also means making sure that no American is left behind in our economy. So we are going to have to use the reconciliation process to address some of our other economic needs, including things like universal child care, expanding Medicare, there are other — paid family leave. This plan fundamentally that President Biden has put forward is about work and workers, and those things go together like a hand in a glove. And so, we have to do both of them, and that is our plan to move them both forward.”
O’Donnell then asked, “It sounds like the bipartisan infrastructure bill is likely to move first, basically pass the Senate first, and it sounds like what we’re hearing through The Hill and so forth is that Speaker Pelosi is saying, when the Senate passes that bipartisan bill, she will just hold it, which she can do, just hold it in the House for months before bringing it up for a vote, and she will bring it up for a vote around the time that the other bill, the reconciliation bill, is also ready for a vote. Is that what’s going to happen here?”
Porter answered, “Yes.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.