President Biden on Thursday publicly unveiled his $1.75 trillion spending package framework, in hopes of ending Democrats' weeks-long negotiations over an administration-defining investment into the country's health care, education, and climate systems, reports The Washington Post.
Biden began his televised East Room address by defending the slimmed-down framework, which initial proposals had pegged at $3.5 trillion: "No one got everything they wanted, including me," he said.
"But that's what compromise is. That's consensus. And that's what I ran on," he added. "I've long said compromise and consensus are the only way to get big things done in a democracy."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Biden argued getting this deal (and the accompanying infrastructure bill) through Congress is a "matter of critical importance" to U.S. progress and global stature, writes The Hill, and maintained that investments in health care, child care, and climate change would both bolster working Americans and protect the world they live in from environmental threats. He did, however, stop "short of laying out a timeline or calling on Congress to pass the reconciliation bill or a bipartisan infrastructure bill immediately," the Hill notes.
"It's about leading the world or letting the world pass us by," the president explained.
Soon after Biden's remarks, former President Barack Obama issued a statment celebrating the White House framework as a "giant leap forward," despite the often "frustrating and slow" nature of progress.
When he was through, the president left the room without taking any questions, despite the one very big, very important one plaguing us all: without explicit, pledged support from Democrats, can this deal even happen?
Only time will tell. And according to Politico's Ryan Lizza, it's "clearly not locked in."
-
Savages: a tragi-comedy set in a 'quirky handcrafted world'The Week Recommends This new animated film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Claude Barras is undeniably political, but it has a hopeful message
-
Why 'faceless bots' are interviewing job huntersIn The Spotlight Artificial intelligence is taking over a crucial part of recruitment
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring pushSpeed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additionsSpeed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein filesSpeed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oilSpeed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymanderSpeed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting voteSpeed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts
-
Trump criticized for firing BLS chief after jobs reportSpeed Read Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer oversaw a July jobs report that the president claims was rigged
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness TestSpeed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks
