WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House and Democrats are hurriedly reworking key aspects of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion domestic policy plan, trimming the social services and climate change programs and rethinking new taxes on corporations and the wealthy to pay for a scaled-back package.
The changes come as Biden more forcefully appeals to the American public, including in a televised town hall Thursday evening, for what he says are the middle-class values at the heart of his proposal. As long-sought programs are adjusted or eliminated, Democratic leaders are showing great deference to Biden’s preferences to swiftly wrap up talks and reach a deal in the narrowly held Congress.
Even a new White House idea abandoning plans for reversing the Trump-era tax rates in favor of a approach that would involve taxing the investment incomes of billionaires to help finance the deal appears acceptable to top Democrats. The leadership is racing to finish negotiations, possibly by week’s end.
“We have a goal. We have a timetable. We have milestones, and we’ve met them all,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who predicted on Thursday, “It will pass soon.”
Talks between the White House and Democratic leaders are focused on reducing what had been a $3.5 trillion package to about $2 trillion, in what would be an unprecedented federal effort to expand social services for millions and address the rising threat of climate change.