Fate of infrastructure and Build Back Better bills uncertain amid Democratic infighting - CBS News

House Democratic leadership had hoped to pass both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the social spending bill Friday. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's best-laid plan to pass both Friday is in danger of collapse. 

A group of moderates said they would not vote for the Build Back Better Act until the Congressional Budget Office releases its analysis of the impact the measure will have on the budget. Pelosi, who is trying to navigate the chasm that separates moderates and progressives, cannot afford to lose more than three votes, so either faction is capable of torpedoing the bill. Late Friday afternoon, she sent a letter to House Democrats announcing that the bills must be advanced Friday, and she said that the infrastructure bill, which has passed the Senate, will receive a vote first. Then, they'll vote on the rules for debate on the Build Back Better Act, with the aim of passing the legislation by Thanksgiving. 

This infuriated progressives, who are now threatening to vote against the infrastructure bill. Since House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has urged Republicans to oppose the bill, it's not likely Democrats would be able to overcome the progressive opposition.

The bills make up the bulk of President Biden's domestic agenda. Mr. Biden called Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal Friday afternoon, according to two sources familiar with the call. 

Earlier Friday, the president urged Congress to vote straight away, despite the lack of a score on the Build Back Better Act from the CBO.

"I'm asking every member of the House of Representatives to vote yes on both these bills right now," he said. 

Pelosi does not generally schedule votes until she's confident a bill has enough votes to pass. Republicans began the morning after the House gaveled in at 8 a.m. by calling to adjourn for the day, and forcing the House to take a vote. GOP lawmakers are expected to slow things down by calling for procedural votes throughout the day.    

If the House passes the Build Back Better Act, which would broaden the social safety net and combat climate change, it's not clear yet what its fate will be in the Senate. This week, the House restored paid family and medical leave, a proposal that was in the original framework but was removed under pressure by key Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. While he says he supports paid leave, he doesn't think it belongs in a bill that will be passed through reconciliation with only Democratic votes, as Build Back Better will be. 

Manchin has also demanded to see further details about how the social spending bill will affect the debt and inflation before supporting it. His other criticism of the legislation is that it contains 10 years of revenues but in some cases is funding programs that will end in one to six years — "that's not the true cost," he told MSNBC Thursday.

The reappearance of paid leave is not the only major addition to the bill. The latest version also increases the cap on the deduction of state and local taxes (known as SALT) from $10,000 to $72,500 (or $36,250 in the case of an estate, trust or married individual filing a separate return), and extends the higher cap through 2031, instead of 2025. Another provision of the bill would allow undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. prior to January 1, 2011 to apply for a legal classification known as "parole," which would shield them from deportation and grant them work permits. 

The votes for both bills come on the heels of a sobering loss for Democrats in Virginia, when Republican Glenn Youngkin prevailed in the governor's race in a state Mr. Biden won by 10 points just a year ago. Democrats also came close to losing the governorship in heavily Democratic New Jersey. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Fin Gomez, John Nolen, Zak Hudak and Camilo Montoya Galvez contributed to this report. 

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Kathryn Watson

Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.

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