US House Speaker: "Democrats Near Large-Scale Agreement on Biden-Style Welfare Budget Bill"

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives [Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has announced that an internal agreement on the Biden administration's large-scale welfare budget bill is nearly finalized. This increases the likelihood that the bill will enter the voting process after months of contention.

On the 24th (local time), Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and a member of the Democratic Party, stated in an interview with CNN that the internal agreement within the Democratic Party on President Biden's welfare budget bill is "almost complete."

Previously, there had been ongoing disagreements among Democratic lawmakers over the $2 trillion welfare budget bill.

Progressive members of the House had taken a firm stance that they would only participate in the vote if there was an agreement to increase the budget for climate change response and social welfare.

On the other hand, moderate Democratic Senators such as Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema argued that the originally proposed $3.5 trillion budget by President Biden should be reduced. In particular, Senator Sinema expressed opposition to the Biden administration's proposed corporate tax increase.

Due to these internal conflicts within the ruling party over the welfare budget bill, even the bipartisan infrastructure development bill worth $1 trillion, agreed upon with the Republicans, had not been passed.

These disagreements have been analyzed as particularly hindering President Biden, who emphasizes climate change response. The welfare budget bill proposed by President Biden included many eco-friendly policies such as expanding renewable energy and related incentive programs.

President Biden plans to urge global cooperation on climate change response at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) held in Glasgow, UK, on the 31st.

Meanwhile, Senator Manchin, whose constituency is West Virginia where the coal industry remains strong, maintains a reserved stance on the renewable energy transition policy.

Senator Manchin recently expressed opposition to a bill proposed by the Democrats that provides incentives to private companies using clean energy.

Currently, the White House is reportedly attempting to reach an agreement with Senator Manchin on a $2 trillion budget bill, which is $500 billion more than Manchin's proposed cap of $1.5 trillion.

Speaker Pelosi emphasized that most of these disagreements are being resolved and expressed optimism that an agreement on the budget bill between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Manchin "can be reached."

Speaker Pelosi acknowledged that "there will be differences from the initially proposed budget," but said, "We will be able to present a budget that meets the President's goals."

She added that there are plans to bring the agreed budget bill to a vote within a few weeks.

Speaker Pelosi also revealed that, in preparation for the possibility that the tax increase proposal might be withdrawn during the agreement process, a bill to strengthen tax collection on high-income earners is being prepared in the Senate.

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