As of Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, the Democrats are still hurrying to present the United States’ budget plan for the 2022 Fiscal Year, before President Biden heads to Europe for a global summit. The House Democrats are moving quickly to unite their efforts and ensure their party’s agenda is included in the final bill proposed to Congress.
How Does the Federal Budget Process Work?
First and foremost, there are many components that contribute to passing a federal budget. Every year, the current President sends a comprehensive budget plan to Congress, detailing what the President recommends to be spent by Congress and his administration’s policy objectives. This includes allocations for taxes, climate change initiatives, defense funding, Medicare/Medicaid, unemployment and other social welfare programs. In total, there are about 19 different programs that are recognized under mandatory or discretionary spending in the US government.
After Congress receives the executive recommendation, the House and Senate Budget Committees set out to make their own bills. The budget resolution then proceeds until the committees agree to present their bills on the Senate and House floors. Both bills must pass in their respective house, and history has proven that this is not an easy feat.
After the bills pass, additional appropriations bills are introduced within specific subcommittees for discretionary spending. More and more deliberations ensue at the introduction of each bill and at every stage, which is why the process takes substantial time. Partisan conflicts and disagreements over specific spending policies ultimately prevent bills from passing.
So Where is the Current Budget Proposal?
Biden originally proposed a budget package for $3.5 trillion, which has since been scaled down to $1.75 trillion. The bills that are being deliberated in Congress extend to Biden’s infrastructure bill and economic agenda.
The budget framework includes expanding Pre-K education to all three and four year-olds, increasing the child tax credit, extending affordable care act subsidies, expanding Medicaid and aggressively targeting climate change. Democrat leaders are attempting to get unified approval and support of Biden’s plans.
In his original proposal, Biden wanted to include free community college for two years, nationally mandated paid family leave, tax deduction and negotiated Medicare drug prices. These provisions have since been removed from Biden’s economic plan.
Currently, House and Senate Democrats are trying to garner support for both the infrastructure and economic bills proposed by Biden. These have both been modified to appeal to certain representatives. Biden’s administration is working extensively to push this legislation through before he leaves the country.
The Hold-Up
Key Democrat representatives such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi are battling both progressive and moderate Democrats. Disagreement is running rampant among Democrat leaders with varying ideological stances. To some, Biden’s framework is too progressive, and to others, his framework is not progressive enough.
The divide within Democratic leadership may be the demise of Biden’s proposed legislation. This comes as a true surprise to the president’s party, considering Democrats hold the majority in the House of Representatives and a split in the Senate can be offset by Democrat VP Kamala Harris. Party tensions serve as an internal challenge for Biden, and his administration simultaneously has to resist the number of Republicans in the senate. If Democrat leaders cannot maintain support from all 50 Democrat senators on the floor, passing the bills will become extremely challenging for their party.
Time is of the Essence
Biden plans to depart on Air Force One for a summit in Rome and hopes to leave with strong domestic progress. Party unification will strengthen Biden’s stance on a national level and convey great success to other world leaders.
While this story continues to unfold, it will be interesting to watch whether Biden can unite the majority of Democrat leaders in Congress and achieve success. All eyes are on the Democrats in Congress and their legislative actions.
Sources:
https://www.cbpp.org/research/introduction-to-the-federal-budget-process
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/28/politics/president-joe-biden-economic-agenda/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/infrastructure-spending-bill-biden-10-28-21/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/10/28/us/biden-spending-bill-deal