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Democrats race to reach budget deal

By Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 0005 GMT (0805 HKT) October 29, 2021

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2:33 p.m. ET, October 28, 2021

How the White House would pay for the $1.75 trillion spending bill

From CNN's Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco

In the framework released Thursday, the White House listed several ways it would fully pay for the $1.75 trillion budget reconciliation package.

The Democrats have fractured over measures to cover their sweeping spending proposal. Initial plans to make companies and well-off Americans pay by raising the corporate tax rate and the top marginal individual and capital gains rates were scuttled by Democratic moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

The party then floated a billionaire tax on the capital gains of the super-wealthy, but that quickly withered after resistance from another key Democratic moderate, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and several others in the Senate and House.

Here’s the latest plan:

Corporate taxes: The framework would put in place a 15% minimum tax on the corporate profits that large companies report to shareholders, not to the Internal Revenue Service. This would apply to companies with more than $1 billion in profits. The proposal also includes a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks. Also, it would impose a 15% minimum tax, calculated on a country-by-country basis, that American companies pay on foreign profits, consistent with an agreement Biden recently won among 136 countries.
Taxes on the rich: The wealthiest Americans would pay a 5% surtax on income above $10 million, and an additional 3% levy on income above $25 million. It would also close the loopholes to allow some affluent taxpayers to avoid paying the 3.8% net investment income tax on their earnings. And it would continue the limitation on excess business earnings.
IRS enforcement: The plan would beef up IRS enforcement so that it can ensure that people are paying what they owe to Uncle Sam. The new enforcement would focus on Americans with the highest incomes, not those earning less than $400,000 a year.
Rebate rule: The framework calls for blocking the implementation of a Trump administration regulation that would have changed the drug industry’s rebate system.

The corporate tax provisions would yield $800 billion, the individual tax measures $650 billion, the IRS investments $400 billion and the rebate rule $145 billion, according to White House estimates.

2:06 p.m. ET, October 28, 2021

Schumer tells Senate Democratic caucus they're trying to get text for economic package this afternoon

From CNN's Manu Raju

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told the Senate Democrat caucus at a virtual meeting that they are trying to get text together for the $1.75 trillion economic package today.

Schumer said the hope is the House will introduce it today, according to a person in the meeting.

2:04 p.m. ET, October 28, 2021

Manchin says he needs to see bill's text on framework before taking a position

From CNN's Manu Raju and Ted Barrett

Democratic moderate Sen. Joe Manchin would not address liberal critics who say he has barely compromised while they have moved in his direction substantially.

"I've been dealing in good faith and I will continue to deal in good faith," he said when asked about the lack of compromises.

Manchin was asked to clarify his earlier comments because he had not affirmatively said that he would support the deal.

“We haven’t seen the text yet. Everyone has to see it. I don’t think anybody could say they could support it until they see the text,” he said.

He would not engage when asked about progressives threatening to tank the infrastructure bill because of his lack of support over the larger bill.

"We're working in good faith," he told CNN.

2:10 p.m. ET, October 28, 2021

Here's where things stand on Hill negotiations

From CNN's Capitol Hill team

President Biden departed on a flight to Rome, but back on Capitol Hill, crucial negotiations on his domestic agenda continue.

Here's a catchup of where things stand:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is daring progressives to vote against President Biden this afternoon, saying she will hold a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package. She wants the bill passed today.
She warned members not to embarrass the President this afternoon by blocking this measure as he boards Air Force One to Europe and says she will hold the vote open as long as necessary to get the votes.
At the White House, President Biden says he's within inches of getting a final signoff from Democratic moderate Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
On the Senate side, Sen. Bernie Sanders seems to be giving progressives some cover, calling the Build Back Better framework the “most consequential bill since the 1960s,” but said clearly to him it has some “major gaps in it.” He also said he thinks that before the House votes on the bipartisan infrastructure framework, House members should have legislative text and “a right to know that 50 US senators are supporting” it.
Right now, Senate Democrats are holding a virtual meeting to go over the framework.
Some key problems remain: So far, progressives won't fold. They don't just want a verbal agreement from Sinema and Manchin to back the bill; they want to see the language that Biden outlined that includes all of their priorities. They are also insisting they won't back down. Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told CNN after the caucus meeting that progressives are prepared to block the bipartisan infrastructure bill if it’s not voted in tandem with the economic bill.
And in the Senate, Manchin and Sinema offered muted responses to the President, neither one pledging openly to support the Democrats-only plan.
Worth noting: Jayapal did say progressives are willing to work through the weekend for the legislative text for the economic bill to be written so they can vote on it.

Bottom line: It's still unclear how all of this plays out this afternoon and this evening. There is still a lot of horse trading going on and lots of meetings, and we still don't have a time set for the House vote, so there is some wiggle room.

Stay tuned. We have Pelosi's delayed news conference coming up shortly.

1:11 p.m. ET, October 28, 2021

Progressive Caucus chair says they'll vote no on infrastructure today unless the economic bill is in tandem

From CNN's Annie Grayer and Daniella Diaz

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, the head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told CNN after meeting with the progressive caucus that progressives are prepared to block the bipartisan infrastructure bill if it’s not voted in tandem with the massive economic spending bill.

Jayapal also said that her caucus is planning to vote on a resolution outlining their support for the framework of the economic bill that was release this morning.

Jayapal said she has not spoken to Sen. Bernie Sanders about whether he supports the framework.

But they won’t vote for the infrastructure bill yet. She said they’re willing to work through the weekend for the legislative text for the economic to be written so they can vote on it.

1:05 p.m. ET, October 28, 2021

About 102 million Americans left without paid family leave in new framework

From CNN’s Katie Lobosco

Millions of Americans were set to gain paid family and sick leave before President Biden’s proposal to create a federal standard benefit was dropped from his sweeping social safety net package.

About 102 million Americans, or about 77% of workers, don’t currently have access to paid family leave that allows them to take paid time off after becoming a new parent or caring for a seriously ill family member, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 29 million people, about 21% or workers, don’t have a single paid sick leave, according to the data.

“The consequences of the loss of this policy at the federal level will disproportionately fall on low-wage workers and women of color who are least likely to have any time off at all,” said Sherry Leiwant, cofounder of the nonprofit A Better Balance that works to advance justice for workers, in a statement.

The paid leave plan’s survival had been in question for several days due to objections from Sen. Joe Manchin, key moderate Democrat from West Virginia. Biden's initial 12-week proposal was scaled back to four weeks in an effort to secure Manchin's support, but it was left completely out of a new framework announced by Biden Thursday.

More background: The United States currently has no federal paid family or sick leave benefit, making it an outlier among developed countries. It is the only nation that does not offer some paid leave to new mothers among the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In the absence of a federal mandate, many private employers as well as six states and Washington, DC, offer paid family and sick leave. Three more states have passed laws to establish these benefits and are planning to start paying them out over the next few years.

12:36 p.m. ET, October 28, 2021

Biden: "Let's get this done"

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

President Biden closed his White House remarks by urging Congress to pass both his economic agenda and the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

"Given half a chance, the American people have never ever ever ever let the country down, so let's get this done," Biden said, while making a final push for the scaled back framework and the bipartisan infrastructure bill ahead of his overseas trip to Europe.

"These bills continue cutting taxes for middle class, for child care, for health care, so much more. Let me close with this. For much too long, working people in this nation in the middle class of this country, have been dealt out of the American deal. It's time to deal them back in," he said.

The President noted how both bills are a cornerstone of what he campaigned on and what people voted him into office for.

Biden continued, "I ran for President saying it was time to reduce the burden on the middle class, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, working people and the middle class. I couldn't have been any clearer from the very moment I announced my candidacy. That's why I wrote these bills in the first place and took them to the people. I campaigned on them, and the American penal spoke. This agenda, the agenda that's in these bills is what 81 million Americans voted for. More people voted than at any time in American history. That's what they voted for. Their voices deserve to be heard or denied or worst ignored," the President said.

These bills "are about betting on America, about believing in America, about believing in the capacity of the American people. If you look at history of the journey of this nation, what becomes crystal clear is this. I'll say it again. Given half a chance, the American people have never ever, ever, ever left the country down, so let's get this done," Biden said.

More background: Despite Biden touting the framework, there is no guarantee Democrats pass the social safety net or the physical infrastructure packages as moderate Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema haven’t explicitly committed to backing the plan and House progressives have made clear they do not want to vote for the infrastructure bill unless the larger bill moves in tandem, and have said a framework is not enough to win their votes.

The President outlined the various investments contained in the framework of his “Build Back Better” agenda, including expanding services for seniors, childcare, expanding the child tax credit, investments in higher education and investments to combat the climate crisis.

He also stressed talking points he has been making for months when pitching these plans, noting the packages are fully paid for, wont raise taxes on Americans making less than $400,000 a year and will reduce the deficit.

CNN's Jason Hoffman contributed reporting to this post.

12:33 p.m. ET, October 28, 2021

Obama calls on Democrats to support Biden's proposed framework

From CNN's Jeff Zeleny

Former President Obama is adding his voice to this critical moment for the Biden administration, saying in a statement: “The fight continues, but today’s landmark agreement is an important step on our long journey to live up to our highest ideals.”

The statement continues:

"The Build Back Better framework doesn’t contain everything that the President proposed and that some had hoped. But that’s the nature of progress in a democracy. The good news is that it represents the best chance we’ve had in years to build on the progress we made during my administration and address some of the most urgent challenges of our time. I’m grateful to President Biden, Democrats in Congress, and everyone who has raised their voice and put their faith in government to do big things."

1:43 p.m. ET, October 28, 2021

Here's what's in and what's out in President Biden's new $1.75 trillion economic plan

From CNN's Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco

President Biden just wrapped White House remarks where he called for support for his newly released framework for a $1.75 trillion social spending plan, and it is significantly smaller than the Democrats’ initial sweeping proposal.

It would still be transformative, though it remains to be seen whether Democrats can agree to move it forward.

Here’s what’s in:

Universal Pre-K: Provide free Pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds. The plan would expand access to 6 million children a year.
Child care: Limiting child care costs for families to no more than 7% of income for those earning up to 250% of state median income, expanding access to about 20 million children. Funding would last six years.
Enhanced child tax credit: The beefed up credit — which provides $300 a month for each child under age 6 and $250 a month for each one ages 6 through 17 — would be extended through 2022 for more than 35 million families. Households earning up to $150,000 annually would qualify for the enhanced payments. The credit would be made permanently refundable so the lowest income families would continue to qualify. The enhancement, which was part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Democrats enacted earlier this year, is currently only in place for this year.
Earned income tax credit: The expanded earned income tax credit for 17 million low-wage childless workers would be extended through 2022. The boost, also part of the relief package, is only in place for this year. It nearly triples the maximum credit childless workers can receive, extends eligibility to more people, reduces the minimum age and eliminates the upper age limit.
Home health care: The framework calls for permanently improving Medicaid coverage for home care services for seniors and people with disabilities, with the goal of reducing extensive waiting lists. It also aims to improve the quality of caregiving jobs.

The child and pre-school provisions would cost $400 billion, while the tax credits would total $200 billion. The home health care measures would cost $150 billion.

Affordable Care Act subsidies: The enhanced federal premium subsidies would be extended through 2025. It would reduce the cost of coverage on the Obamacare exchanges, particularly for moderate-income and middle-class Americans. The boost, also part of the Democrats’ relief package, is set to expire after 2022.
Medicaid expansion: The framework calls for providing Affordable Care Act premium subsidies for low-income Americans in the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid, enabling them to buy Obamacare policies with no monthly premiums. It would not create a federal Medicaid expansion program.
Medicare hearing benefits: Hearing services would be covered under Medicare.

The Affordable Care Act subsidies and Medicaid provisions would total $130 billion, while hearing benefits would cost $35 billion.

Climate change: Biden’s framework would deliver $555 billion in tax credits and investments aimed at combatting climate change. It would offer tax credits to families that install solar rooftops or buy electric vehicles, for example. The investments are aimed at providing incentives to grow domestic supply chains in solar and wind industries. The package also calls for creating 300,000 jobs by establishing a Civilian Climate Corps that works to conserve public lands and bolster community resiliency.

Other provisions that would address housing, nutrition, higher education and equity, as well as other investments, would cost $280 billion.

Here's what’s out:

Free community college: Biden initially called for making tuition free for two years at community colleges but it’s been dropped entirely from the package. It could still include an expansion of Pell grants for low-income students.
Paid family and sick leave: Biden also wanted to create a federally-funded paid family and sick leave program for the millions of Americans who don’t already receive the benefit from their employer. He first called for 12 weeks of paid leave, which got reduced to 4 weeks during negotiations. But even the scaled back version was left out completely from the framework.
Medicare dental and vision benefits: The proposal does not include expanding Medicare to include vision and dental coverage, both longtime goals of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Dental coverage, in particular, would have added several hundred billion dollars to the cost of the bill.
Medicare drug negotiation: The President also dropped a controversial provision to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices amid opposition from some Democrats. It would have offset $700 billion in spending.
State and local tax deduction: It's critical to some Democrats that the package lifts or repeals the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, that was put in place by the Republican-backed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. But the framework makes no mention of it.

Read more about the framework here.