Pirate's Cove

Is it still a bipartisan bill if the Democrats jam in their wish list of “people infrastructure” and pass it via reconciliation with zero Republican votes? Joe promised bipartisanship ad nauseum during the campaign. Does he go with his unhinged base and Modern Socialist Congress or demand bipartisanship in this vote?

Dem Rep. Porter: Pelosi Won’t Allow Vote on Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Without Reconciliation Bill

On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Last Word,” Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) discussed a meeting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had with her caucus earlier in the day and stated that Pelosi will hold the bipartisan infrastructure bill and not bring it up for a vote until the budget reconciliation vote is ready to be voted on.

Host Lawrence O’Donnell asked, “What can you tell us about that meeting with Speaker Pelosi?”

Porter responded, “Well, I think she made clear that we are wholly committed to passing this infrastructure bill, that we are glad that Republicans are stepping up and committing to delivering for the American people on infrastructure, and that we understand that part of building back better is doing that infrastructure work, but building back better also means making sure that no American is left behind in our economy. So we are going to have to use the reconciliation process to address some of our other economic needs, including things like universal child care, expanding Medicare, there are other — paid family leave. This plan fundamentally that President Biden has put forward is about work and workers, and those things go together like a hand in a glove. And so, we have to do both of them, and that is our plan to move them both forward.”

So expanding Medicare, government child care, even more crazy climate crisis scam measures, tax increases, illegal alien amnesty, guaranteed family leave (who pays is unclear), free college, $15 minimum wage, and so much more. Things that will involve the federal government in even more citizen’s lives, make them more controlled and more beholden. While removing even more power from the States. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try and slip their crazy HR1 voting bill in.

Pelosi rebuffs McConnell on infrastructure

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday amplified her plans to link a bipartisan infrastructure agreement to a second package of Democratic economic priorities, rebuffing an appeal from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to decouple the two bills.

In a closed-door meeting with her caucus in the Capitol, Pelosi said her initial strategy — to withhold a House infrastructure vote until the Senate passes a larger, partisan families plan — remains unchanged, according to lawmakers in attendance.

“What the Speaker has said, and I totally agree with her, is that we’re not going to vote on one until the Senate sends us both,” Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, told reporters after the meeting. “That’s not changed.” (snip)

McConnell seized on Biden’s reversal, urging Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to follow the president’s lead and commit to supporting the bipartisan infrastructure bill as a stand-alone measure.

“The President cannot let congressional Democrats hold a bipartisan bill hostage over a separate and partisan process,” McConnell said in a statement.

Pelosi, however, is standing her ground, supporting the liberals in her caucus who are wary that enacting the smaller infrastructure bill — which the Senate is shooting to pass before the August recess — would erode the momentum behind the larger partisan package, which Democrats intend to pass by reconciliation.

So, it’s not just Porter saying it, other Democrats are echoing what Pelosi is saying. Realistically, they do not care that much if they lose the Senate and House in the 2022 mid-terms, because they know they will have passed this crazy big bill and there’s no way Republicans will be able to get rid of it, at least till after 2024, provided the GOP keeps Congress and wins the White House.