As tensions rose on the voting floor, the House was forced to delay the vote for the multibillion spending package.
Asked when the votes would occur, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters, “We’re working on it.” He added that a CBO report on the $1.75trn (€1.5trn) bill would not be done by Friday.
Democratic leaders, progressives and most moderates rallied around the package they said would make historic investments in fighting climate change, lower prescription drug prices, expand Medicare coverage and provide universal pre-kindergarten.
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Democratic Representative Kurt Schrader acknowledged that some involved in the discussion had “a different view of how to get it done”.
“We will change the lives of Americans for generations to come,” House Ways and Means Chairman Richie Neal, D-Mass., said on the House floor.
“Those of us who serve on this date will be able to tell our children and grandchildren we were there when the Congress passed one of the most transformational bills in the history of the Congress,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said.
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The social spending bill contains $555 billion for climate and clean energy investments.
The two pieces of legislation include the biggest upgrade of America’s roads, bridges and airports in a generation and the largest expansion of social programs since the 1960s.
Other priorities in the sweeping spending package include updating infrastructure to stand up against extreme weather events, flood prevention, watershed protection, ecosystem restoration and grid resilience.
It replenishes and expands grants like the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, which is intended to help local governments promote energy efficiency and advance renewable energy projects.
An affirmative vote would bolster the credibility of Biden’s pledge to halve US greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 during the UN climate conference taking place in Glasgow.
The second, larger package addresses a wide range social needs in addition to infrastructure.
It would expand health care assistance, make available free childcare and put forward a new paid family leave policy, along with tax incentives for clean energy, among other things.
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While the infrastructure bill received both Republican and Democratic approval, the social assistance bill, if it passes, would only do so along party lines.
Both legislative packages have received vocal support from city and county advocacy groups.
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