US House of Representatives Extends Deadline for Infrastructure Budget Bill to October 31

President Joe Biden of the United States and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The U.S. House of Representatives has extended the deadline for processing President Joe Biden's infrastructure and social welfare budget bill, which has faced difficulties in passage, to the end of this month.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 2nd (local time), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, stated in a letter to members of the same party, "We will process the $1 trillion infrastructure budget bill passed by the Senate last August by October 31."

Speaker Pelosi said, "If we had attempted a vote on the infrastructure bill last week, it would have been rejected," adding, "We need more time to pass the legislation we are pushing."

The infrastructure budget bill has gained support from Republicans, but the $3.5 trillion (approximately 4,100 trillion won) social welfare budget bill is facing delays due to internal disagreements within the party.

The Democratic leadership is trying to use this budget as leverage in negotiations with Republicans to pass large-scale budget bills in areas such as children and climate change, which President Biden pledged, but they are encountering setbacks.

In particular, moderate Senator Joe Manchin (West Virginia) has maintained the position that the social welfare budget is excessive and that only $1.5 trillion, reduced by $2 trillion, should be passed.

In response, hardliners have expressed their stance that they will not process the infrastructure budget until an agreement is reached on passing the original social welfare budget bill, despite efforts to persuade party members on the 1st.

Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and a Democratic House member, said, "This budget is not a crazy left-wing wishlist," adding, "We promised voters nationwide that we would implement the ideas contained in this bill."

However, moderate Representative Josh Gottheimer criticized, "We cannot allow a very small number of left-wing members to derail the president's plan to create 2 million jobs a year."

President Biden told reporters before heading to his Delaware home over the weekend, "I will try to persuade the American people," and added, "I believe the public will know what is included in the budget and I will work to get it passed."

The Guardian reported that on the 1st, President Biden held a private meeting in the House and showed willingness to compromise on the budget size to between $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion if no agreement is reached.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are also pushing a bill to raise the federal government's debt ceiling but are facing opposition from Republicans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.