Democratic lawmakers in the United States on Friday abandoned their plans to push through a comprehensive 1.75 trillion social policy and climate change bill from the president. Joe Biden in the House of Representatives, amid persistent divisions that once again hampered the package.
Party leaders said they would move forward with a vote on a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill to renovate America’s roads, bridges and airports, a key pillar of President Biden’s national agenda. But it was unclear if the vote would be successful this time.
The leader of the progressive Democratic wing assured that her group would not vote for that bill until the party was also ready to vote for the largest one. That represented a chaotic setback for Democrats, eager for gains after a week of losses and doubts about the party’s appeal.
“Welcome to my world. This is the Democratic Party,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters after hours of closed-door negotiations.
Pelosi had planned to hold a vote on both bills on Friday, but the action came to a halt after more centrist Democrats said they wanted to see a nonpartisan cost estimate for the social policy and climate change bill. That estimate could take weeks.
Pelosi advanced a procedural vote on the package, but said final approval may still be weeks away. Weeks of disputes between moderate and progressive Democrats have delayed the project. Biden publicly asked the House for the first time on Friday to vote on the bills today.
“I am asking all members of the House to vote ‘yes’ on both bills at this time,” said the Democratic president.
The two projects include a major improvement of America’s roads, bridges and airports and the largest expansion of social programs since the 1960s.
An approval would reinforce Biden’s commitment to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2030, which was made during the UN climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx