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President Joe Biden, accompanied by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (second from left) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., (left) arrives to meet with House Democrats at the Capitol on Thursday.

Andrew Harnik/AP

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Andrew Harnik/AP

President Joe Biden, accompanied by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (second from left) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., (left) arrives to meet with House Democrats at the Capitol on Thursday.

Andrew Harnik/AP

President Biden traveled to Capitol Hill on Thursday to persuade House Democrats to back a $1.75 trillion framework of social and climate spending and end a weeks-long stalemate over the passage of a separate bipartisan infrastructure bill.

After meeting with House Democrats, Biden returned to the White House to publicly outline the deal. “After months of tough and thoughtful negotiations, I think we have, I know we have, a historic economic framework.”

Biden said that “No one got everything they wanted, including me, but that’s what compromise is, that’s consensus and that’s what I ran on.” He said that “this isn’t about moderates versus progressives,” but rather “competitiveness versus complacency.”

Biden appealed to Congressional Democrats to approve the plan, arguing it’s what he ran on last November. “The agenda that’s in these bills is what 81 million Americans voted for,” he said. “Their voices deserve to be heard, not denied, or worse ignored.”

Biden’s framework also got a statement of support from former President Obama. “In a country as large and diverse as ours, progress can often feel frustrating and slow, with small victories accompanied by frequent setbacks. But once in a while, it’s still possible to take a giant leap forward,” Obama wrote. “That’s what the framework announced today represents.”

Biden at the Capitol

Earlier, Biden joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and a room full of Democrats in a closed-door meeting in the basement of the Capitol on Thursday morning. In his remarks, Biden made an urgent case for a vote later in the day on the bipartisan bill, telling Democrats that in order to succeed, they needed to succeed today, according to a source familiar with the gathering.

Biden explicitly told Democrats that he needs their help and their votes, the source said. The comments were aimed at holdouts in the Congressional Progressive Caucus who have said they will not vote for the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in August until there is a final agreement on social spending.

And it’s not clear that two key Senate holdouts are on board. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Az., issued a statement that praised the framework but stopped short of saying she would vote for it. “After months of productive, good-faith negotiations with President Biden and the White House, we have made significant progress on the proposed budget reconciliation package. I look forward to getting this done, expanding economic opportunities and helping everyday families get ahead,” Sinema said.

The other holdout, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV., said only that “this is all in the hands of the House right now.”

Progressive Caucus chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told reporters ahead of the meeting that she intended to stick with her position.

“What we said consistently is that we want to see what’s actually in the bill,” Jayapal said. “We want to see the legislative text. And then assuming that we’re fine with that, we’ll vote both bills through at the same time.”

A slimmed-down framework

Senior Biden administration officials believe the policies in the framework can become a bill that passes both the House and the Senate, despite the decision to cut the original $3.5 trillion spending goal in half.

The social spending package, which senior administration officials described as “transformative,” would make investments in children and families, boost efforts to combat climate change, provide affordable health care, and help middle-class families.

It includes major priorities for Democrats including universal pre-K for all 3- and 4-year-olds, an additional year of the expanded monthly child tax credit payment, invests in affordable housing, premium reductions under the Affordable Care Act and significant investments to address climate change. The bill would also create a nationwide green jobs program known as the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The legislation would be paid for with a series of taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

Notably absent from the framework are major party priorities, including:

• paid family leave;
• free community college; and
• measures to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Many Democrats have blamed Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., for the failure to reach a deal on paid family leave and free community college.

The framework comes at a critical moment for Biden, who is set to leave Washington on Thursday afternoon for a series of meetings in Europe with global leaders on climate change and the world economy. Senior congressional Democrats say they believe Biden wants at least one of the bills passed ahead of those talks.

The framework includes:

• universal pre-K for all 3- and 4-year-olds (the provision would expire in six years);
• child care support for about 20 million children that limits costs to no more than 7% of income for families earning up to 250% of state median income, as long as parents are working, seeking work, in training or dealing with a serious health issue (this provision would also expire in six years);
• an extension of the child tax credit and earned income tax credit for one year;
• more than $500 billion in spending on climate, including clean energy tax credits for rooftop solar, electric vehicles, clean energy production; a civilian climate corps program; and investments in clean energy technology and manufacturing;
• an extension of the expanded Affordable Care Act premium tax credits through 2025;
• hearing costs through Medicare for seniors; and
• $100 billion for reforms to reduce backlogs in the immigration asylum process.

The taxes include:

• 15% minimum  tax for large corporations that report profits of more than $1 billion to shareholders;
• 1% tax on stock buybacks;
• 15% minimum tax on foreign profits of U.S. corporations; and
• a surtax on the top .02% wealthiest Americans of 5% on income over $10 million, and an additional 3% on income over $25 million

Addressing those in the upper income brackets who would have be hit by higher taxes to pay for his plan, Biden said “All I’m asking is pay your fair share. Pay your fair share. Pay your fair share.”

Biden added that “For much too long the working people of this nation, and the middle class of this country have been dealt out of the American deal. It’s time to deal them back in.”