The ongoing standoff threatens to tank Biden’s domestic agenda and legislative priorities.
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Hoyer and Clyburn acknowledge they are disappointed over delayed infrastructure vote
From CNN's Morgan Rimmer
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, after voting for the stopgap transportation funding, told reporters that infrastructure will come to the floor “when we have the votes.”
Majority Whip Jim Clyburn echoed this, saying he’s “not worried about” getting infrastructure done by Dec. 3 when the new highway funding extension will expire.
When asked if they would vote on infrastructure, Clyburn said it was “above my pay grade.”
“Steny decides when it comes to the floor, Nancy decides what comes to the floor, so you have to talk to one of them,” he said. “I have no idea, I’ll be ready to do my job when it gets to the floor.”
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House and Senate have recessed until Monday
From CNN's Kristin Wilson
Both the House and Senate have recessed until Monday.
The House will return at noon on Nov. 1; the Senate at 3 p.m. ET.
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House passes another extension of surface transportation
From CNN's Kristin Wilson
The House has passed a second temporary extension of the Highway Trust Fund, ensuring that 3,700 federal employees will not be furloughed. It was set to expire on Oct. 31.
The new extension will extend to Dec. 3, the same day as the government funding extension is set to expire.
The vote was 358-59, with nine present.
Though House Democratic leadership had intended this morning to bring the bipartisan infrastructure plan to the floor for a vote today, the House will leave that legislation – as well as the broader Build Back Better social spending package – pending until they return next week.
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Hoyer expects vote on infrastructure bill will happen before Dec. 3 deadline for transportation funding
From CNN's Morgan Rimmer
(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA)
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters “yes,” he is disappointed that they weren’t able to vote on the infrastructure package today.
When asked if it would take until Dec. 3 for them to pass it, which is when highway funding would lapse after the stopgap that members are currently voting on, Hoyer said, “no, I don’t think” it will take that long.
In term of when they will finally vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, Hoyer said, “I hope soon.”
When Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer departed the Capitol Thursday evening, he refused to say if key moderate Democrat Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema had committed to voting for the compromise Build Back Better legislation or if it would help advance President Biden’s agenda if they were to publicly announce their support.
“We’re making progress getting the President’s agenda done. That’s it, that’s all I’m saying,” Schumer told reporters.
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Jayapal: Progressives "overwhelming" endorsed Biden’s spending plan, but want infrastructure bill as well
From CNN's Leinz Vales
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, head of the House Progressive Caucus, said her members “overwhelming” endorsed President Biden’s spending package framework, however, the infrastructure bill needs to move with the “Build Back Better” agenda.
Jayapal indicated Thursday evening that House leaders don’t have the votes to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
“We have consistently said that we need to have both of these (bills), because it wasn’t until we really did what we did, that all of these priorities of the President, the President’s agenda, are on the table because of progressives standing up and saying we’re not going to leave anyone behind,” Jayapal said.
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House delays infrastructure vote, unclear when they will vote on bill
From CNN's Manu Raju and Annie Grayer
Amid resistance from progressives over moving ahead with the Senate-passed infrastructure bill, the House will vote tonight on a short-term extension of highway funding, delaying the infrastructure vote.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office sent a notice that said the vote on the transportation extension would be the last one of the week, meaning there will be no infrastructure vote this week.
The transportation bill vote is needed to avoid a lapse in funding for transportation projects starting Monday.
The short-term bill to extend transportation funding will go until Dec. 3. That’s the same day that government funding runs out and when the Treasury Department warns the debt ceiling will be hit.
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House expected to vote on extension of highway funding, effectively delaying infrastructure vote
From CNN's Manu Raju
Amid resistance from progressives over moving ahead with the Senate-passed infrastructure bill, the House is expected to vote tonight on a short-term extension of highway funding, effectively delaying the infrastructure vote, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The move is needed to avoid a lapse in funding for transportation projects starting Monday.
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Jayapal says House leaders don't have the votes to pass infrastructure bill tonight
From CNN's Manu Raju and Ryan Nobles
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, head of the House Progressive Caucus, indicated that House leaders don’t have the votes to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill tonight and insisted the caucus’ position is still that they want the bill to move at the same time as the “Build Back Better” agenda.
The statement also said progressives want all 50 Democratic senators, including moderates Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, along with the entire Democratic House caucus to sign off on the plan, writing, “This cannot be accomplished without legislative text that can be fully assessed and agreed upon by all parties, including 218 Representatives and all 50 senators in the Democratic Caucus.”
Of course, neither Sinema nor Manchin have signed on to the spending bill yet, and have only issued tepid statements on President Biden’s announcement this morning.
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Members say Biden told them he’s "within inches" of getting a deal with Manchin and Sinema
From CNN's Manu Raju
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema arrives to a closed-door meeting Sen. Brian Schatz), Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Joe Neguse at the US Capitol on October 28.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Rep. Kweisi Mfume, a Democrat from Maryland, said President Biden told the caucus that they are “within inches” of a deal with moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, though he didn’t mention them by name.
Per different source at the meeting, Biden said he wants a vote on both bills, and then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said right after she wants a vote today on infrastructure.
Biden didn’t specify timeframe. Half the caucus cheered and stood up, chanting “vote, vote” — the other half didn’t.
Biden then joked that when a kid grows up and has a choice to be President or Speaker, “It’s more powerful to be speaker,” he told the room
Also leaving the room, Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Blue Dog Democrat from Oregon, wouldn’t say if he supports the framework deal, noting that he hasn’t seen the details yet.
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Following meeting with Sinema, Jayapal still says she’s a no on infrastructure bill today
From CNN's Lauren Fox and Annie Grayer
After a meeting with moderate Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the head of the progressive caucus, told CNN she is still unchanged and would vote against the infrastructure bill if it came to the House floor today.
The lawmaker said it was a great conversation with Sinema, but she declined to say if she got any assurances.
She also said she’s asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a meeting, but doesn’t know when it would be or if she will have one.
Meanwhile, Sinema declined to answer a series of questions. She only said she had put out a statement
Jayapal reaffirmed the position of progressives in a tweet, saying progressives need a vote on both the infrastructure vote and the social spending package to move forward.
See her tweet:
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Manchin signals support for higher price tag on spending bill
This is the first public indication that Manchin is OK with a price tag higher than $1.5 trillion.
Some context: CNN reported on Sunday he privately indicated to Democratic leaders that the higher amount was OK with him.
Off camera, Manchin would not say if he would put out a public statement of support for the bill as liberals want him to do before voting for the infrastructure plan.
“I have said all I’m going to say. We’re working in good faith,” he said.
When he was told that liberals want him to publicly support the bill, Manchin said: “If they can’t take the word of the president of the United States, and the speaker, we are in trouble…We are going to work in good faith and we have been working in good faith.”
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Progressive Caucus chair says bill text not enough to vote for infrastructure bill tonight
“No,” Jayapal said when asked by CNN if the text is enough to vote for proposal.
“We said the two bills have to go together,” she said, while also noting they are “looking at the text now.”
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House progressives circulating resolution to say they support social spending framework
From CNN's Annie Grayer
Rep. Pramila Jayapal speaks to reporters as she walks out of a House Democratic Progressive Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill, Thursday, October 28.
(Andrew Harnik/AP)
The House Progressive Caucus is currently circulating language of a resolution that is seeking consensus on two principles, according to a source familiar with the process.
First, the caucus is looking to formally endorse theframework of the social spending bill that President Biden revealed this morning, which would show that progressives are ready to make policy concessions and move forward with what is in the current framework.
Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal told reporters earlier on Thursday that during a meeting among progressives, it became clear that the caucus “enthusiastically” supports the framework laid out by Biden.
“What I will tell you is everyone in the room enthusiastically endorsed a resolution that approves in principle the framework that the President laid out today,” Jayapal said.
Second, the resolution being circulated seeks to solidify that progressives are still unified in voting down the bipartisan infrastructure bill without also having a vote on the social spending bill framework. This resolution, if passed, would affirm that progressives still want both bills to move together.
Some context: A source familiar with the process told CNN that progressives are overwhelmingly still in the same place as they were before the caucus meeting with President Biden.
The progressives want a vote in the House on the social safety net bill in order to vote for the infrastructure bill, not just a framework on the social safety net bill.
They also want to see stronger assurances that it is agreed on by all parties, namely Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
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"This is a framework that they can work with," Coons says of Manchin and Sinema
From CNN's Leinz Vales
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said Thursday that moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin told him that he can work with President Biden’s Build Back Better framework.
“I’ve heard from both senators, Manchin and (Kyrsten) Sinema, that they believe this is a framework that they can work with, that this is a basis for us moving forward,” Coons told CNN.
President Biden announced this morning his $1.75 trillion framework on his economic and climate agenda when he addressed the House Democratic caucus.
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Progressive Dem says Manchin and Sinema sign off on bill text needed before voting yes on infrastructure
From CNN's Manu Raju
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema arrives for a senate vote in the US Capitol on Thursday, October 28.
(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP Images)
Not every progressive Democrat has said the Build Back Better Act must pass at the same time as the infrastructure bill.
One progressive said that Democratic moderates Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona need to publicly endorse the legislative language of the Build Back Better Act before voting yes on the infrastructure bill.
That’s further than Manchin and Sinema have gone so far — particularly Manchin, who has refused to comment on his views on the proposal.
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Progressives say release of the Build Back Better text doesn't change anything major right now
From CNN's Lauren Fox and Manu Raju
In conversations with progressives, one source told CNN that the text just released of the Build Back Better Act does not change anything because progressives still want the “Senate to act.”
Another progressive aide told CNN that progressives wanted a vote earlier, not just text.
A third aide said progressives still want both bills to pass at the same time.
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Read the latest text of the spending bill
From CNN's Lauren Fox and Annie Grayer
The Democrats’ most updated text of the spending bill, based on the President’s framework laid out this morning, has been published.
This is the text House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to in her news conference moments ago, and as she noted, this is not the final text — this is available for all members to look at and make suggestions and changes.
Read the bill text published by the Rules Committee here.
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Rules Committee meeting soon to start process of bringing spending bill to the floor
From CNN's Lauren Fox and Kristin Wilson
The House Rules Committee is now meeting at 3 p.m. ET to start the process of bringing the wider spending bill to the floor, as House Democrats are trying to see if they can put together as much text as possible on the framework of Biden’s Build Back Better plan.
It’s not clear Democrats will be able to pull it off given that there are still some question marks, but the scramble underscores how Democrats are trying everything they can to advance this process right now.
Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to members that she had asked the Rules Committee to meet today “to advance this spectacular agenda.”
The does not mean an agreement will be ready by the time they meet, but is a way to bring an agreement to the floor quickly if one is reached.
In a news conference moments ago, Pelosi said the text for the spending bill framework is “up for review.”
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Pelosi says Biden's agenda is like FDR's New Deal
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during her weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill on October 28.
(Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised Democrats’ latest paired back version of bills that contain much of President Biden’s domestic agenda, comparing them to former Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s.
The House’s top Democrat then went on to point out that Roosevelt was able to push his ambitious spending agenda through a much less divided Congress.
“We always remind everyone that Franklin Roosevelt had 319 Democrats in the Congress at the time and we have 220, and that makes a big difference,” she said.
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Pelosi: I would still like to see paid family leave
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed the status of the White House framework on President Biden’s economic agenda, saying she has “not given up” on the paid family leave provision, even though that is reportedly out of the current $1.75 trillion proposal.
“Of all the things I named, we have agreement on most of those things. Now, when people see the language … we’ll see what they say back,” she told reporters Thursday.
