! Senate Budget Democrats announcing plan for $3.5 trillion budget package
$3.5 trillion topline still has a lot of details to be filled in on how to pay for it, how to score it, and exactly what will be in or out. But it sets stage for a ~$4 trillion long-term Biden agenda uniting moderates like Warner with liberals like Sanders bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
In the photo that's WH's Brian Deese over there by the window.
Next stop: Manchinville.
Leaving the Capitol at 10:12 pm in the steamy Washington humidity on a “deal” night.
Mark Warner’s distinctive SUV still here so I guess he is too.
Big win for Bernie Sanders: Expansion of Medicare benefits to include dental, hearing & vision.
Seniors are a key voting bloc everywhere, especially in midterms.
And there just happen to be A LOT of them in Joe Manchin’s West Virginia - which has among highest 65+% in USA.
Mark Warner leaving Capitol after announcing agreement to set $3.5 trillion topline for Dem budget package
Will have to check on whether there are actual lobbying groups for Big Glasses, Big Dentures and so on.
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If you are a young reporter wanting to understand Washington, you could do worse than reading the budget from start to finish. On almost any page you can find a multi-decade saga if you look hard enough.
The wrong way to read it is just as a bunch of numbers. Why is there breast cancer research in DOD of all places? There’s a fun story behind that. Why do government rocket launches cost so much more than private launches? Another story. Every line item started somewhere.
My favorite are the charts in the back. They are key to putting in perspective other stories. You should know, for example, that the Gov’t will spend ~$62T on autopilot over the next decade. A $6T increase would be a little less than 10%. And so on.
Early December: Hostages released in massive year-end budget deal just in time for Christmas recess
Also May-November: Complaints about all of the hostage-taking from whomever wants the hostage released.
Last year, the biggest hostage was COVID relief. For much of the year, McConnell held it hostage to his demand for a legal liability waiver Dems oppose; Dems held hostage over that and desire for a bigger package.