President Joe Biden floated a new price tag for his proposed entitlement spending agenda, as Senate moderates continue to signal opposition to his multitrillion-dollar proposal.
Biden is now asking for a bill that spends $1.9 to $2.2 trillion, according to reports surrounding a video conference the president had with Democrat leftists in the House led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
It remains unclear whether Democrat Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) will support Biden’s new proposal. Sinema has not detailed a top-line figure for the entitlement spending bill. Manchin has floated a $1.5 trillion measure, a price that remains dramatically lower than the Democrat leftists want.
“That’s not going to happen,” Jayapal said Sunday about the $1.5 trillion proposal.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) speaks to members of the press outside a House Democratic caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on October 1, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Biden wants the bill to pay for two years of free college, free universal pre-K, subsidized child and elder care, and increased levels of food stamps, steps he argues are critical for American families.
The president will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to detail how his plan will help Americans, in an effort to steer away from the dramatic headlines focusing on the level of spending and tax hikes to pay for it.
Leftist activists continue pressuring Sinema, even after getting some criticism for filming her as she went into a bathroom Sunday. Sinema was confronted on an airplane by a DACA activist and was welcomed back to Washington, DC, with more protesters at the airport.
Activists also paddled to Manchin’s Washington, DC, houseboat in kayaks last week to protest his lack of support for the bill.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have set a new deadline of October 31 for Democrats to come to an agreement on both spending proposals.