Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that Democrats were close to reaching a deal on the contested $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act.
Pelosi appeared Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” where she claimed that Democrats had “90% of the [reconciliation] bill agreed to and written,” having overcome longstanding disagreements between the moderates and the left flank of the Democratic Party.
Host Jake Tapper asked the Pelosi if the deal would be finalized before President Joe Biden leaves for Europe at the end of the month.
Biden is scheduled to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican Oct. 29.
“You’ll have a deal by Thursday or Friday?” he asked the show’s guest.
“I think we’re pretty much there now,” Pelosi responded. “We’re almost there. It’s just the language of it.”
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Pelosi noted that the size of the social spending bill was turning out to be less than projected, but still sufficient to bolster the president’s economic agenda. (RELATED: Democrats Renew Pledge To Hold Infrastructure Votes By End Of October)
Tapper then remarked that two deadlines on a House vote on the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) had been “missed because of the progressives” who held the bill hostage until there was an agreement on the larger package.
“Wait a minute,” Pelosi interrupted the host. “There was no deadline that was missed because of the progressives. The deadline was missed because they changed from 3.5 [trillion] to one-half of that, and we’ve had to go in.”
Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was set to meet Sunday with Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in Delaware to discuss the fate of the spending bill.
