After months of negotiations and atermories, the Democrats seem ready to pronounce Friday on both plans – infrastructure and society – who could revive Joe Biden’s presidency.
Le Monde with AFP
The denouement is near: after months of intense tractations and intestinal quarrels at the Democrats, the American Chamber of Representatives will finally vote on Friday, November 5th on the main investment plans of Joe Biden, who hopes to see them adopted To revive his presidency, put a harsh test.
It was 8 hours that the room will meet, announced on Thursday evening the Democratic officials, to decide on these two gigantic programs of the President, supposed to “rebuild” America. A “historical” project and “transformation carrying”, had said a spokesman for the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre.
under pressure after a sting defeat in a local election, the Democrats at the Congress had sealed Thursday to grant their violins, and the Chamber Democrat of the Nancy Pelosi had promised: “We will adopt these two planes” . Because time was pressing. The struggles between the left wing of Joe Biden’s party and the more moderate elected officials deprived the president of a political victory that he desperately needed to give a new breath to his presidency.
Two pharaonic projects
“There is urgency,” Hammered Karine Jean-Pierre. President’s expenditure programs are popular with Americans, according to surveys. And a study of Moody’s firm published Thursday estimated 1.5 million the number of jobs that these plans could create in ten years. But Joe Biden, who boasted during the presidential campaign his negotiator talents because of his long career as a senator, stopped on the divisions of his party and looks, helpless, his popularity rating tumble.
Before his tour of the G20 and COP26, the President had already returned twice on the Capitol Hill to accelerate the passage of his two flagship projects: a plan first to renovate roads, bridges and dilapidated transport of the country. The $ 1,200 billion envelope – the equivalent of Spain’s GDP – is supported by Democrats and some Republicans. Another, gigantic social and climatic component, called “Build Back Back” (“Rebuilding and Better”), which includes reducing child care and investing $ 550 billion to significantly reduce gas emissions. Greenhouse by 2030.
But his efforts had not been successful. Back from Europe, the president, visibly impatient, pressed his troops to start. “The Democrats have never been too close to finalize and adopt” these plans, said Thursday the Democratic Chief of the Senate, Chuck Schumer. But their fate is actually in the hands of an elected representative, which for the moment to support them, Senator Joe Manchin, West Virginia.
Mid-mandate elections in ambush
In view of the very fine Democrat majority in the Senate, this elected virtually has a veto right on these projects. He reiterated Thursday morning his concerns about their impact on American public debt and inflation. In his state, one of the poorest of America, “people are terrified by rising the price of gasoline, food, utilities,” he said on CNN.
One way to denounce expenses deemed excessive of his party, accused of having not taken the pulse of the country, to the point of having lost Tuesday the control of Virginia, a State which had nevertheless voted for Joe. Biden to the presidential election of 2020.
A finding all the more morose as this election agreed as a general rehearsal before the next political battles: the whole country will be called to the polls for the Mid-term legislative elections in November 2022. The party of Joe Biden could So lose control of both bedrooms, which would complicate much more the passage of any magnitude reform.