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President Joe Biden on Tuesday sought to frame what he described as the long-term benefits of his economic agenda, and warned that the rest of the world would overtake the U.S. in competitiveness without two key pieces of legislation.
Speaking in a swing district in Michigan, Biden said the U.S. risks “losing our edge as a nation” without both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and his so-called Build Back Better agenda.
“These bills are not about left versus right or moderate versus progressive,” Biden said, as Democrats in Washington continue to wrangle over the details of a major social-spending plan. “They’re about leading the world or continuing to let the world pass us by.”
The president’s trip to Howell, Mich., comes as lawmakers are adjusting their spending plans and deadlines amid infighting between Democratic progressives and moderates.
Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called off a planned vote on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, and later announced a new target date of Oct. 31 for passing the measure. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said top lawmakers’ goal is to be done in the next month with the infrastructure bill and the larger Democratic package targeting “human infrastructure,” climate change and other party priorities. The price tag of that bigger, so-called reconciliation package is expected to shrink from an original $3.5 trillion.
A key Senate Democratic moderate, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, said Tuesday that he isn’t ruling out a package of between $1.9 trillion and $2.2 trillion, after having previously suggesting a price tag of $1.5 trillion.
Biden’s speech was in the district of Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a moderate Democrat who’s not yet on board with the reconciliation package, Politico reported. Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, has said she’s in favor of passing the infrastructure bill and then negotiating the rest of Biden’s Build Back Better proposals Democrats want to pass through the budget reconciliation process, Politico notes.
Addressing Slotkin at the beginning of his speech, Biden said, “thanks for the advice you’ve given me.” Noting her former career, he said, “you don’t want to screw around with her.”
Ahead of his speech, Biden met virtually with Democratic House lawmakers about the bills targeting infrastructure and social spending.
DJIA,
closed higher Tuesday, with tech shares bouncing back after Monday’s rout.
Now read: Yellen says U.S. will sink into recession if Congress does not act on debt limit
MarketWatch’s Victor Reklaitis contributed to this report.
