Biden: Will “work like hell” to pass the Infrastructure and Social Security Act | News

U.S. President Joe Biden admitted that his Democrats’ differences on two key bills are frustrating.

US President Joe Biden has stated that he will “work hard” to pass Congress through an infrastructure bill and a trillion-dollar social expenditure bill. However, he did not set a new deadline.

“Everyone is frustrated, this is part of working in the government, frustrated,” Biden told reporters on Saturday, acknowledging frustration with the differences within the Democratic Party.

Biden visited the Capitol on Friday to try to end the struggle between Democratic moderates and left-leaning progressives that threatened two bills that form the core of his domestic agenda.

The president admitted on Saturday that he criticized him for not taking more steps to increase support for the bill through national travel. He said there are many reasons for this situation, including his concern about hurricanes and storm damage during his recent travels.

Biden said that he will travel to explain “why is so important” to pass the bill and clarify its contents. He said the purpose of these bills is to make life easier for ordinary Americans, for example, to make childcare affordable.

U.S. President Joe Biden talks with Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi as they walk out of the meeting with Democrats in the U.S. Capitol [Tom Brenner/Reuters]

Biden said: “None of these legislation is radical and unreasonable.” “I will try to sell what I think the American people will buy.”

Biden expressed belief that both bills would be passed, but refused to set deadlines, such as the Thanksgiving holiday in November.

“I believe I can do this,” Biden said.

Moderate and left-leaning progressives

Moderate Democrats want to vote immediately in the House of Representatives on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that has already been passed in the Senate, while progressives want to wait until agreement is reached on a $3.5 trillion bill to support Social spending and combating climate change.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said that the infrastructure bill cannot wait for the social spending bill.

She told Democratic lawmakers in a letter on Saturday that the House of Representatives must approve the infrastructure bill “as early as” October 31, when the highway funding legislation will expire. She said that negotiations on the social expenditure bill are still continuing. “We will and must pass these two bills as soon as possible.”

After President Biden and Democrats met in the U.S. Capitol, progressive Congressman Alexander Ocasio Cortez (right) listened to questions from reporters as he left. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presided over Bipartisan Infrastructure Act​​ [Leah Millis/Reuters]

Biden, a former senator who is very familiar with the legislative process, told his caucus on Friday that they can postpone voting on smaller bills and significantly reduce larger bills to about $2 trillion.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said that the president and his team will continue to engage with members of the House and Senate throughout the weekend.

“He is not only looking forward to welcoming lawmakers to the White House next week, but also looking forward to traveling around the country to give reasons for his bold and ambitious agenda,” she said.

At the same time, the president said on Saturday that he hopes that Republicans will not use the Senate obstruction bill to block efforts to raise the debt ceiling.

“That would be totally unreasonable,” he said.

The U.S. Treasury Department estimates that Congress must raise the government’s borrowing limit of US$28.4 trillion on or about October 18, otherwise it will face the risk of debt default, which may lead to potentially disastrous economic consequences.