Biden Faces Grueling Choices on Reconciliation Bill

Washington Post: “If constrained to $1.5 trillion, Democrats could fully fund only a handful of their most important policy priorities. For instance, Democrats would already come close to reaching that number in spending if, hypothetically, their plans consisted of just three top priorities — tackling climate change, creating a national paid leave program, and extending a tax benefit that alleviates child poverty.”

“Together, those three initiatives would represent a substantial expansion of the American welfare state, as well as a significant step toward Biden’s goals for combating climate change. But a package that contained only those initiatives would jettison an enormous number of priorities many Democrats campaigned on, including universal prekindergarten, free child care, more affordable housing and a dramatic expansion of government-funded health care.”