President Joe Biden unveiled a $1.75 trillion framework for Democrat lawmakers who are struggling to advance a social welfare package, with a focus on trimming costs of raising a child, expanding healthcare and combating climate change
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2021) President Joe Biden unveiled a $1.75 trillion framework for Democrat lawmakers who are struggling to advance a social welfare package, with a focus on trimming costs of raising a child, expanding healthcare and combating climate change.
The White House released the framework as Biden headed to Europe, with the first stop in Italy to attend a G-20 summit and meet the Pope and then attend the global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
"When enacted, this framework will set the United States on course to meet its climate goals, create millions of good-paying jobs, enable more Americans to join and remain in the labor force, and grow our economy from the bottom up and the middle out," the White House said in a press release.
The package includes a bottom line total of $1.75 trillion - half of the $3.5 trillion sought by House Democrats - and offsets of $1.995 trillion, with a claim that the package "is fully paid for, and will reduce the deficit."
The framework includes $600 billion for preschool and child tax credits, $555 billion to combat climate change, $150 trillion to increase the nation's stock of affordable housing, $130 billion to expand the Affordable Care Act and $150 billion to provide home healthcare for seniors.
However, the package drops a number of priorities sought by Democrats in their original $3.5 trillion proposal, including free community college and paid family leave.
The package was trimmed to ensure passage in the Senate, where votes from 50 Democratic lawmakers are need to pass the measure and two moderate Democrats - Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema - balked at the original $3.5 trillion price tag.
