
Negotiations continue among Democratic moderates and progressives over President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan, a sweeping proposal targeting “human infrastructure,” climate change and other party priorities.
Biden and other top Democrats had been aiming for a $3.5 trillion social-spending package that would move in tandem with a bipartisan infrastructure PAVE, +1.23% bill, but objections from moderates have shifted the White House to considering toplines ranging from $1.9 trillion to $2.3 trillion.
The president on Wednesday is scheduled to push his economic agenda in a speech in his birthplace of Scranton, Pa., amid reports that two key senators are seeking to reach a deal by the end of the week and certain items are likely to be cut from the massive bill.
As the party aims to reach agreement by Oct. 31, below are key proposed categories for the spending.
Free community college: This item appears to be in serious jeopardy. Biden campaigned on making two years of community college tuition free, and the proposal is among the major parts of the Build Back Better Act. But the president has reportedly told progressive lawmakers that it will likely be cut from the final package. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona recently fretted that the idea could be dropped. “That would be a shame, because we’re so close to leveling the playing field for so many students,” he said in Detroit in September, Politico reported.