WASHINGTON – Democrats in Congress plan to use their $ 3.5 trillion budget to unilaterally accelerate a series of far-reaching immigration, labor, and potentially voting policy changes to the Republican opposition, and capitalize on their narrow majorities to accomplishing much of the president's agenda in one fell swoop.
The draft budget that the Democrats want to push through in the Senate next week already envisaged one of the most ambitious legislative efforts Congress has ever made, including huge federal investments in expanding social and environmental programs. But as their legislative capabilities dwindle, Democrats have come to the conclusion in recent weeks that they want to push the boundaries of what the budget can achieve beyond dollars and cents.
The party leaders plan to take steps to give up to eight million undocumented immigrants access to citizenship and crack down on violations of employers' work organization rights. They even weigh additional incentives for states to urge states to expand access to voting. If successful, they could overwhelm the Republican opposition and enforce these measures with only Democratic votes, using an expedited process known as reconciliation, which protects the legislature from a filibuster.
It won't be easy. Reconciliations are subject to strict rules as to what can and cannot be included in the budget. And with Republicans almost unanimously against it, Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote.
Still, their determination to try means an admission that their budget package could be the last major legislative tool to come under unified democratic control by Congress.
"We have a lot of ambitious people who want to try many different concepts," said Illinois Senator Richard J. Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat. "Some will no doubt qualify. Others won't. "
The reconciliation boost has so far been largely dwarfed by efforts by the Senate to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill worth $ 1 trillion. But with Senators heading for a final vote on this bill this weekend, the single-handed Democrats will soon be the focus of Capitol Hill.
The Republicans have cried foul and accused the Democrats of shutting down important law debates. They are preparing to fight to disqualify immigration and labor regulations, among other things, and are already publicly beating the Democrats on what they call a "socialist" spending plan.
"It sounds like they are trying to use this as one-stop shopping for their entire legislative agenda, much of which is an abuse of reconciliation," said Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican. "The American people will be very offended when they see what they're trying to do."
The current democratic majority is nowhere near the first to try to use a law of reconciliation to push through major political changes by simple majority. Republicans, who have turned to him frequently to cut taxes, used a reconciliation bill to pave the way for protracted efforts to open the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy research. The Democrats used it to get the final pieces of President Barack Obama's health bill across the finish line in 2010 and to pass the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus earlier this year.
According to the reconciliation rules, provisions must have a direct impact on the expenditure or income to be taken into account. Democratic officials say they believe their proposals will meet this test. The final decision, however, largely rests with Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate MP, who acts as the Chamber's arbiter on her own rules and determines whether individual items can be added as "accidental" or deleted.
Even if they fail in some areas, the approach allows them to show voters and activists who are putting tremendous pressure on them to act on the core issues they have tried, and essentially shifting the blame on Ms. MacDonough. That's exactly what the Democrats tried in February when they banned the inclusion of a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour in the coronavirus package.
"The whole idea behind reconciliation is that things move by a mere majority, and it is an exception to the cultural ethical norm that members of the Senate minority have some privileges that are not to be trifled with," said Alan S. Frumin, the predecessor of Mrs. MacDonough in an interview. As such, the MP is trying to weed out "abusive" provisions that are not "inherently budgetary," said Frumin.
"Your nightmare – my nightmare – is accidental," he added.
The most significant proposal is to legalize millions of unauthorized immigrants, a decade-old endeavor. Mr Durbin suggests that legal status be given to people brought to the United States as children, known as dreamers; Immigrants who have been granted temporary protection status on humanitarian grounds; nearly a million farm workers; and millions more who consider Democrats "essential workers".
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Aug. 5, 2021, 5:49 p.m. ET
"If you're wondering why we turned to reconciliation, it's because we tried the usual route," Durbin said, noting that Republicans have attacked Mr Biden's immigration policies and the influx of migrants in the southwest border at the center of their campaign to retake Congress in 2022.
These attacks could frighten moderate Democrats and force party leaders to retract or abandon their efforts. The Democrats plan to allocate additional funding for border security to address some of these concerns.
However, lawmakers are under heavy pressure from immigrant attorneys who say they need to grab a golden opportunity to deal with the problem.
"Everyone recognizes that reconciliation is the best chance to finally get results," said Kerri Talbot of the immigration-friendly group Immigration Hub.
Democrats say the changes would have billions of dollars in budget impact that would affect health benefits, Medicaid spending, and tax credits. They also pointed to a precedent that Republicans set in 2005 when they ran the Senate and included changes to immigration policy with unused visas for highly skilled workers in a reconciliation package. Republicans will surely object.
Mr Frumin, the then parliamentarian, pointed out that he did not remember having decided on the proposal and that there was therefore no binding precedent on this matter.
Biden's budget 2022
Fiscal year 2022 for the federal government begins October 1, and President Biden has announced what he plans to spend from that point on. But any issue requires the approval of both houses of Congress. The plan includes:
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- Ambitious total expenditure: President Biden wants the federal government to spend $ 6 trillion in fiscal year 2022 and total spending to rise to $ 8.2 trillion by 2031. This would push the United States to its highest sustained federal spending level since World War II, rising to over $ 1.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade.
- Infrastructure plan: The budget outlines the President's desired first year of investment in his American Jobs Plan, which aims to fund improvements to roads, bridges, public transportation, and more for a total of $ 2.3 trillion over eight years.
- Family plan: The budget also addresses the other major spending proposal that Biden has already put in place, his American Families Plan, which aims to strengthen the United States' social safety net by expanding access to education, reducing childcare costs and women supported in the world of work.
- Compulsory programs: As usual, mandatory spending on programs like Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare is a significant part of the proposed budget. They grow as America's population ages.
- Discretionary issues: Funds for the individual budgets of the agencies and executive programs would reach around $ 1.5 trillion in 2022, a 16 percent increase over the previous budget.
- How Biden would pay for it: The president would largely fund his agenda by increasing taxes on businesses and high earners, which would begin to reduce budget deficits in the 2030s. Administrative officials said tax increases would fully offset employment and family plans over the course of 15 years, which the budget request supports. In the meantime, the budget deficit would stay above $ 1.3 trillion each year.
"To the extent that advocates of substantial immigration reform have indicated that they can get their way this round, this is a very slim slate," he said.
The Democrats are also having delicate discussions about how to deal with labor regulations.
Progressives and labor groups are pushing for the party to include the entire right to organize law, a measure passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year but stalled in the face of Republican opposition in the Senate. Perhaps the most significant expansion of workers 'rights since the New Deal era would neutralize the right to work in 27 states, protect unionized workers from retaliation, and empower the government to fine employers who violate workers' rights. However, several moderate Democratic senators, including Mark Warner of Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, do not fully support the bill.
Congressional aides familiar with the budget negotiations said it was more likely that Democrats would agree on a narrower set of priorities that they believe have a clear budgetary effect that could fulfill the reconciliation rules.
These include allocating up to $ 1 billion to the National Labor Relations Board to strengthen enforcement of existing labor law after years of budget freezes and creating an initial $ 50,000 fine to punish businesses who commit unfair labor practices.
The Senate Finance Committee, which will spearhead sweeping changes to the federal tax code to help pay the bill, is also looking at ways to use credits, deductions, and a possible excise tax to achieve a similar result.
"Even if it is not the whole, any provisions they can pass would be helpful in helping workers enjoy the benefits of union membership, which include higher wages, a safer job and a much higher chance of retirement" said Rep. Robert C. Scott, Democrat of Virginia and Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee.
It is somewhat less clear whether the Democrats will incorporate the electoral provisions under consideration or in what form.
Minnesota Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar urges that the funding process be used to join the political and legislative battle for the right to vote. This would allow the Democrats to bypass, in part, the Republican opposition, which has stalled broader legislative attempts to introduce new state voting standards.
But the approach has narrow limits. Ms. Klobuchar urges the federal government to allocate funds for things like ballot boxes, ballot papers and voting machines, and possibly to attach strings to incentivize states to facilitate the way to vote. The Democrats couldn't use the process to require states to change their laws, which would be much more effective.
Ms. Klobuchar has carefully pointed out that she does not see the idea as a substitute for these bills. However, some Democrats fear that using the reconciliation process could put pressure on Congress to pass the broader electoral law pending before the Senate.
California spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, for example, has urged the party to focus its efforts strictly on existing legislation, according to a senior Democratic adviser familiar with her views who was not empowered to discuss it.
Emily Cochrane contributed to the coverage.