House officials continued to rush to get everything in place for debate and votes on both the bipartisan infrastructure bill (BIF) and the Build Back Better Act. Votes could’ve happened as early as Thursday, according to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. However, it could force those officials to work over the weekend.
“90% of this bill has been agreed to [by the] House, Senate, White House,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said at her weekly press briefing Thursday. The video above shows clips from the briefing. “We made some changes since last week. People need to familiarize themselves with it. That was the purpose of our meeting this morning.”
Rep. Pelosi did not answer a reporter question regarding whether she expected votes Thursday. She did say “it would have been better” if the bills were passed before election night earlier this week.
“I was really very unhappy about not passing the BIF last week,” Pelosi said. “I really was very unhappy because we had an October 31st deadline, and I thought that that was eloquent, but not enough, I guess.”
As the House votes approach, the overall price tag and the revenue to pay for the Build Back Better Act are expected to grow. The Build Back Better Act could be high as $1.85 trillion if the $100 billion to fund immigration law changes makes it through the Senate. Recent additions include a family leave provision that is expected to include four weeks of paid time off for childbirth, recovery from major illness or caring for family members.
As for revenue, a new White House assessment Thursday said taxes on corporations and the wealthy as well as other changes are estimated to bring in $2.1 trillion over 10 years. That’s up from what had been $1.9 trillion in earlier estimates. The bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation released a similar assessment Thursday.
“It truly is formidably paid for,” Pelosi said.
The paid family leave and immigration changes have both caught the ire of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), one of the key holdout votes on the Build Back Better Act. He said he wants Democrats to take more time in negotiations.