Democrats are hoping that Congress is nearing the finish line in its seven-month trek on Pres. Joe Biden’s $2 trillion social and environment package.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., joined at right by Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., looks over his notes as he prepares to speak to reporters after a Democratic policy meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. package was a Broadway show, its seven months on Congress' stage could qualify it as a hit. But lawmaking isn't show business, and many Democrats worry that with the curtain falling soon on 2021, time is not their friend.
The longer it takes to finish the $2 trillion package, the longer it can be vulnerable to factors — predictable and unforeseen, economic and political — that might complicate Schumer's task. Democrats are frustrated that each week they spend battling with each other reduces the time they'll have to sell the legislation's initiatives to voters. The package includes free preschool, new Medicare hearing benefits and steps to curb climate change, paid for largely with tax boosts on wealthy people and big corporations.
And Democrats' marathon talks over the measure are giving Republicans time to use the country's bout with rising inflation, which is showing no signs of going away, as one of their chief weapons against it. The GOP argues that the $2 trillion bill would push prices higher by incentivizing a shift to cleaner fuels, and flushing more cash into an already overheated economy.
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