House Democrats Agree on Strategy to Move Biden Agenda

(Bloomberg) -- House Democrats late Friday took a significant step toward a vote Friday on a $550 billion infrastructure bill and another later this month on President Joe Biden’s more than $1.75 trillion tax and spending package.

An agreement on moving forward was reached after intense 11th-hour negotiations involving both Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi with moderate and progressive Democrats.

“Tonight, members of the Progressive Caucus and our colleagues in the Democratic Caucus reached an agreement to advance both pieces of President Biden’s legislative agenda,” Representative Pramila Jayapal, head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in a statement. 

A separate statement from a group of moderates including Representatives Stephanie Murphy and Josh Gottheimer said they would commit to voting for the economic package “in its current form” as long as a Congressional Budget Office is consistent with White House estimates on cost and revenue.

After passage of the infrastructure legislation, the House is expected to vote on adopting a rule governing floor debate on the larger bill, marking the first significant advancement for the massive spending measure after months of intra-party tension and negotiations.

The actual vote on the bill will wait until after a week-long congressional recess. In the interim, moderate Democrats hope to have more analysis from the CBO. 

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