AOC: Tie final reconciliation bill to infrastructure bill, 'mere framework' not enough

New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says progressives want the Democrats' negotiated, final reconciliation bill ready to bring to the floor before voting on a $1 trillion physical infrastructure bill, adding that a "mere framework" for a spending deal is not enough.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday that a reconciliation deal framework will be announced soon. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants the House to vote on a reconciliation bill by Oct. 31. Using the budget reconciliation process, Democrats can pass the spending bill without GOP votes.

The House has not voted on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill yet. 

The separate negotiated reconciliation bill is expected to include new social safety net programs.

Ocasio-Cortez called President Biden's Build Back Better agenda "transformative" but said the "question is how much of it we'll be able to preserve" in the final budget reconciliation bill.

"A mere framework is not enough," she said on Tuesday. "We need to do it together, and so if we have a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure plan, great, we need to have a vote ready for the Build Back Better plan ... we need to have these votes together."

There are currently more than 90 members of the House Progressive Caucus, which is enough votes to sink the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The head of the caucus said an acceptable reconciliation agreement is close.

"We're really close," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). "And I think if we can just take another week and finalize all these details and get the language done on both the bills, I think we'll be in good shape."