President Joe Biden is conceding that he and his fellow Democrats need more time to deliver on his big social-spending and climate package.
Analysts had been saying it was looking increasingly likely that Biden’s Build Back Better Act won’t get the Senate’s OK this year, as moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia continues to voice concerns about the roughly $ 2 trillion bill.
“My team and I are having ongoing discussions with Senator Manchin; that work will continue next week,” Biden said in a statement late Thursday.
“It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote. We will advance this work together over the days and weeks ahead; Leader Schumer and I are determined to see the bill successfully on the floor as early as possible.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, previously had set a goal of passage by Christmas. On Friday, Schumer said he had spoken on Thursday with Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat, about “ongoing negotiations on finalizing the Build Back Better Act so we can pass it through the Senate.”
“The president requested more time to continue his negotiations, and so we will keep working with him, hand in hand, to bring this bill over the finish line and deliver on these much-needed provisions,” Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor.