How Senators View the Budget Reconciliation Bill

Punchbowl News: “For a number of Senate Democrats, this represents their first opportunity to get something big done. The last spate of one-party Democratic control was 2009, and half the current Senate Democratic Caucus wasn’t even in the chamber then. Passing the American Rescue Plan was a high point for many Senate Democrats, and it left them wanting more — they talked about this with President Joe Biden yesterday in the party lunch. They are jazzed about Child Tax Credit checks going out. Moments like this don’t come too often: a president, House and Senate controlled by one party, all wanting to notch big achievements.”

“No one — not one Democrat — has drawn a red line thus far, and that’s terrific for Schumer. Everyone has bought into this multi-step process; voting first on a bipartisan “hard” infrastructure bill, and then reconciliation.”

However: “Republicans say there are two ways this goes, and both are good for them politically: Democrats pass this budget, and the GOP gets to run on the party in power spending like drunken sailors; or they fail and Republicans get to say that Democrats can’t govern. It’s a win-win situation for Republicans, they say. Republicans can even claim that they tried bipartisanship, as several of McConnell’s top lieutenants have been working with Democrats to get an infrastructure deal done.”