Democrats Weigh Cutting Programs or Reducing Scope to Trim $3.5 Trillion Bill – By Andrew Duehren (The Wall Street Journal) / Oct 3 2021
WASHINGTON—Democrats, working to unite around a far-reaching social policy and climate bill, are weighing two different approaches to reduce its overall cost: eliminating proposed programs entirely or cutting their duration.
Democrats’ debate over the two options took on fresh urgency this weekend after President Biden said Friday that they would have to shrink the size of the legislation, projected to spend $3.5 trillion over a decade to expand and create education, healthcare, climate and other programs.
Centrists opposed that amount of spending, questioning the cost and the potential impact on inflation. Mr. Biden told House Democrats that, after negotiations with centrists, he expects the overall tab to fall between $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion, according to people familiar with his remarks.
Progressive Democrats, who backed the $3.5 trillion level, acknowledged Sunday the need to scale back the legislation to reach a compromise, though they said there’s no agreement on how much.
