Democrats are under a LOT of pressure to NOT let Senate Minority Leader McConnell derail their efforts to pump more money and j0bs back into the American economy and earn the political bonus in doing so…
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is looking at whether he could pass a third bill this year through reconciliation, an arcane budget process that lets Democrats avoid the legislative filibuster.
Schumer’s staff recently argued to the parliamentarian that they could use Section 304 of the Congressional Budget Act, which greenlights the use of reconciliation, to tee up passing at least a third bill this year by a simple majority, an aide for the New York Democrat confirmed.
“Schumer wants to maximize his options to allow Senate Democrats multiple pathways to advance President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda if Senate Republicans try to obstruct or water down a bipartisan agreement,” the Schumer aide added….
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Democrats are also facing a reality where many of their big priorities could struggle to get 60 votes in the Senate, the amount needed to break a filibuster.
What Democrats can fit under reconciliation is limited — the parliamentarian previously nixed a plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour as part of the coronavirus plan, for example.
But Democrats also don’t currently have the votes to nix the legislative filibuster. They would need the support of all 50 members of their caucus in order to get rid of the procedural hurdle, and several members aren’t on board. That is leaving them looking for ways to get their agenda through the chamber if they can’t get 60 votes….