A pair of northeastern Democratic lawmakers say they won’t support any Biden tax proposal unless it repeals the cap on state and local taxes.
@PunchbowlNews@RepTomSuozzi put out a statement Monday and Rep. @RepJoshG told Axios he would not consider a Biden tax proposal unless it repealed the SALT caps.
@PunchbowlNews@RepTomSuozzi@RepJoshG The pathway here for Gottheimer and Suozzi is pretty clear: If they stick to this position and truly decline any and all entreaties, and they recruit three or four more members to join with them, they can have an impact because of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) tight margin.
@PunchbowlNews@RepTomSuozzi@RepJoshG Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) backs them on this policy. But there’s saber rattling and then there’s saber rattling. We’ll see if the House Dems keep their spine stiff here.
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We at @PunchbowlNews have a lot of reporting on infrastructure. relief. Lot of fluid dynamics as we embark on this epic adventure to pass yet *another* several trillion $ bill.
1) @SpeakerPelosi said on a caucus call this wk she wants the bill through the House by July 4.
That is going to be really hard. there are 92 days and just six legislative weeks between now and then. And this isnt like the American Rescue Package, for which they had a framework. This is a brand new bill, contentious policies, regionalism etc. Doable, but tricky
2) The bill that Biden proposed is a proposal. Congress isn't going to take it as is. They have their own ideas -- many of them will track closely with Biden, some of them may not. But ya gotta remember what Biden says isn't gospel. @RonaldKlain and co presumably understand that
I have no idea if Ds will blow up the filibuster. But the anti-filibuster crowd has the momentum now (breathe @AJentleson)
We've spent a lot of time over the last few days talking to sources -- & each other -- ab the filibuster. Here are 5 reasons to blow it up & 5 reason not to
Why @SenSchumer should do it: 1) Passing priorities. If Biden & Schumer want to move anything beyond most basic legislation, or to do so without using reconciliation, they need to get rid of the filibuster. Doesnt mean he'll always be successful, but if he leaves it, he'll fail
2) Different pages: There’s very little common ground between the two parties on any issue right now. In the aftermath of the Donald Trump era, hyper-partisanship is the order of the day. The political center is a lonely place. So why bother looking for Rs to work with at all?
On infra: Biden is set to lay out his infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh next wk
2 main topics: Traditional and human infra
@PunchbowlNews The traditional infrastructure piece is expected to be worth $2T
→ H.R. 2: A beefed up version of the House’s infrastructure bill
→ The pay-for here is hiking the corporate tax rate. WH convinced that corporate tax hikes are popular with the base and Rs.
@PunchbowlNews The “human infrastructure” piece is roughly $1 trillion. It includes:
→ Free community college, universal preschool, child care, paid leave, long-term care and prescription drug overhaul.
→ The pay-for here is hiking individual rate and closing the carried interest loophole
@PunchbowlNews One of the ironies of the Covid lockdowns of the last year was the number of mass shootings went down, although shootings and gun violence overall rose. But as the country reopens, there have been two mass shootings in six days.
@PunchbowlNews Let’s be abundantly clear: A majority of the House supports some sort of overhaul of gun laws. It’s not clear that a majority of the Senate does -- and, frankly, right now, it doesn’t matter. Filibuster will force 60 votes either way
In @PunchbowlNews this AM — We lay out a probable/plausible scenario for infrastructure based on where the Biden admin has been.
Subscribe — at bit.ly/3hAJJiy … email me with thoughts, comments, etc.
Also going to do a *thread* here ….
@PunchbowlNews Q1: The Biden administration felt strongly that they needed to come out of the gate quickly with the American Rescue Plan. They knew it was big, and they knew it was expensive.
@PunchbowlNews And, frankly, they knew it probably wouldn’t get GOP support. But the White House was absolutely committed to nearly every policy proposal included in the bill -- many of which were in the House-passed Heroes Act last year.