The bulk of US President Joe Biden’s agenda remains in the air as congressional Democratic lawmakers are still debating on the major $3.5 trillion legislation. A columnist for the Washington Post said that Biden should bring up every part of his Build Back Better agenda in order to force Republicans along with conservative Democrats to vote.
EJ Dionne of the Washington Post said that if Biden looks to play hardball with the GOP, whose support, or lack of support towards the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill along with conservative Democratic lawmakers Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, he should make a move similar to his predecessor Harry Truman, by bringing up every part of his Build Back Better agenda. This comes as a YouGov poll showed that Americans are only aware that the legislation would come with a $3.5 trillion price tag and that it would be funded by taxing corporations and the wealthy.
When it came to hearing specific parts of the proposal, Americans were very supportive of the bill. Thus, Dionne says Biden needs to talk about the specifics of the policy more and push Republicans as well as the conservative Democrats into saying which parts they will vote for and which parts they will not support. Republican and conservative Democratic lawmakers should tell the public which parts they support and which parts they do not support.
“Do they want less child care? Less health coverage? More expensive drugs? No tax breaks under the child tax credit?” wrote Dionne. “And do recalcitrant Republican governors want an unending pandemic? Biden’s tough speech in Chicago last Thursday on vaccinations was in keeping with his growing militancy on the subject.”
In other news, Biden commemorated Filipino American History Month for October in a special message for the Filipino-American community. In a joint post shared on Facebook, Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden recognized the contributions made by Filipino Americans in the US.
“Jill and I are proud to recognize Filipino American History Month. Filipino Americans are an essential part of our Nation’s strength, diversity, and history; a living reminder of the courage of immigrants, and a growing force in our civic movements and engagement,” said the US leader.