Elected president, Joe Biden wanted to promote national harmony. Today, he struggles to meet this challenge within his own party. Thursday, October 28, the White House wanted to interrupt the clashes between Democrats over the major legislative project that is the Build Back Better (BBB) plan, which plans to revitalize the welfare state and invest heavily in the green economy. For this, she published a long framework text outlining the main lines of the project, after two months of fierce negotiations between the left wing of the party, which has become its center of gravity, and two moderate senators, Joe Manchin (West Virginia) and Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona). The final version provides for an envelope of 1.7 trillion dollars (1.5 trillion euros) for measures ranging from childcare to the extension of medical coverage, through an effort of 555 billion dollars in the fight against climate change.
The President of the United States hoped not to arrive empty-handed at the G20 summit in Italy, which will begin on October 30, and especially at the climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow (Scotland). America’s ability to lead by example in this area is at stake. He also knows how much Democratic procrastination could weigh in the decisive election for governor of Virginia, which will be decided on November 2.
Postponing his trip to Rome for a few hours, Joe Biden went again to the Capitol Thursday morning, to meet with elected Democrats and convince them to accept the painful compromises that mark out the framework text. Bernie Sanders (Vermont), for example, wanted medical coverage extended to dental and eye care. They are no longer mentioned. Only hearing aids for the elderly are taken into account. Another flagship measure promoted by the left wing of the party, the possibility for Medicare to negotiate the price of drugs with industry. Abandonment. Same fate for parental leave, reduced from twelve to four weeks over the negotiations, and finally removed from the project.
Risky political bluff
“Nobody got everything they wanted, including me, but that’s it, a compromise. A consensus. And I campaigned on it Joe Biden explained to the White House in a mid-day address. “It’s not about left against right or moderates against progressives or anything else pitting Americans against each other,” he added. It’s about competitiveness versus complacency. ” But how can we focus attention on the envisaged progress, which would be substantial, and not on the renouncements? This is the whole difficulty for the White House. Superlatives fall in fine rain in the press release, to welcome a text “Historical”. But nothing being acquired, this communication looks like a lap of honor before the end of the race. Or a risky political bluff, for lack of an alternative.
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