Follow Us

Biden goes to Hill to pitch House Democrats scaled-back reconciliation bill before overseas summit

Revised bill reportedly no longer includes money for paid family leave

Published: October 28, 2021 7:40am

Updated: October 28, 2021 8:11am

President Biden is scheduled to go to Capitol Hill on Thursday morning to win support from fellow Democrats in the House for his scaled-back, multi-trillion-dollar Build Back Better spending bill.

Biden will make the visit before departing later in the day for an overseas summit on climate control, an international meeting he had hoped to attend after having brokered a deal among factions of congressional Democrats for his climate change and social spending bill, which is being winnowed from roughly $3.5 trillion.

The revised bill no longer includes paid family leave and has a surtax on billionaires, compared to a suggested billionaire tax to which West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and others reportedly said no. 

Expanded health care programs, free pre-kindergarten and roughly $500 billion to address climate change remain in what’s now at roughly $1.75 trillion package, according to the Associated Press.

The billionaire surcharge to help pay for the reconciliation bill is  5% on incomes above $10 million and an additional 3% on those beyond $25 million, reports the wire service based on a source.

Biden attempted several weeks go to go Capitol Hill to get House Democrats to vote on his spending plan, but left empty-handed, upon realizing he didn't have the votes. He is also expected on Thursday to ask House Democrat to vote on his roughly $1 trillion spending bill, ahead of seeing the final draft of his Build Back Better bill, which the Senate has already passed.

The Facts Inside Our Reporter's Notebook