The President’s long-awaited social safety net bill is likely to pass a vote in the chamber tonight but will face difficulties in the Senate
Pelosi’s press office calls McCarthy’s floor speech a “temper tantrum”
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s press office has called House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s nearly two-hour floor speech a “temper tantrum” tonight in a statement.
“House Democrats are preparing to pass landmark legislation to lower costs, fight inflation and make big corporations and the wealthiest pay their fair share. But McCarthy is welcome to keep getting facts wrong on the House Floor,” Pelosi’s office said.
McCarthy responds to interruptions from Democrats
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
Democrats continue to interrupt House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, while he has been speaking for more than an hour ahead on the vote on the Build Back Better Act.
McCarthy suggested that since Democrats are so comfortable removing members from committees — such as GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar — that those who continue to interrupt his speech should be removed from the House floor.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has been speaking for more than an hour
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, has now been talking for more than an hour.
Under the rules, he is allowed to speak for an unlimited amount of time before a vote can be held on the Build Back Better Act.
Moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is a “no” on Build Back Better, according to Bangor Daily News
From CNN’s Melanie Zanona
Moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine is a “no” on Build Back Better, according to the Bangor Daily News.
“Many of my colleagues argue this major line item is worth accepting to pass the rest of the bill,” Golden said in a statement, according to the paper. “I disagree: the SALT giveaway in the Build Back Better Act is larger than the child care, pre-K, healthcare or senior care provisions of the bill.”
Golden also told the paper that Thursday’s vote was not “the final word,” adding, “I will continue to stay at the table and negotiate for the best deal possible until the very last opportunity.”
Democrats can afford to lose a total of three votes. Golden is so far the only official no vote.
Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy is giving a long floor speech to delay the vote
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, is currently giving a long speech on the floor to delay when the House can vote on Build Back Better Act.
Some Democrats jeered McCarthy and said, “That’s all right. I got all night.”
The group of Democrats responded “so do we,” adding on Build Back Better, ”we’ve been waiting for this a long time.”
Rep. Kurt Schrader says he will vote for the Build Back Better Act
From CNN’s Alex Rogers
Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Democrat from Oregon, tweeted that he will vote for the Build Back Better Act tonight.
“I will vote for the Build Back Better Act tonight. I am confident moving this legislation forward is the best decision for Oregon families, businesses and our economy. I look forward to working with the Senate to further improve the bill to deliver these investments to our state,” Schrader said.
Read the tweet:
Rep. James Clyburn says he expects to lose a few Democrats on Build Back Better vote
From CNN’s Colin McCullough
The Democratic House Majority Whip, Rep. James Clyburn, of South Carolina, expects that there will be some Democrats who will vote no on the Build Back Better plan.
Clyburn said it’s his “expectation” that the caucus will lose Democratic votes, adding that he could think of “one or two people who are wedded to the CBO [Congressional Budget Office] numbers.”
Clyburn also said that he was expecting to lose several votes on the rule for the Build Back Better plan that was held on Nov. 5 but the caucus did not lose any.
On tonight’s vote, Clyburn said “we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Hoyer: “I think we’ll have the votes”
From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer
House Majority Leader Hoyer Steny Hoyer said he was doing “terrific” as he left House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
When asked if that meant they had the votes to pass spending bill tonight, he told CNN, “I think we’ll have the votes.”
More on the expected vote: House Democrats are gearing up to pass President Biden’s plan to dramatically expand the social safety net as soon as tonight with leadership racing to secure a legislative victory for the party even as major obstacles await in the Senate.
The sweeping $1.9 trillion economic legislation stands as a pillar of Biden’s domestic agenda. It would deliver on key Democratic priorities by dramatically expanding social services for Americans, working to mitigate and address the climate crisis, increasing access to health care and delivering aid to families and children.
CNN’s Clare Foran, Manu Raju and Morgan Rimmer contributed reporting to this post.
CBO estimates spending bill will add $367 billion to deficit over a decade
From CNN’s Annie Grayer and Manu Raju
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Build Back Better Act will add $367 billion to the deficit over a decade, according to the summary that they just released.
Part of the gap in the CBO calculations stems in part from the discrepancy over IRS tax enforcement, which had been expected:
“CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would result in a net increase in the deficit totaling $367 billion over the 2022-2031 period, not counting any additional revenue that may be generated by additional funding for tax enforcement.”
Source: https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/spending-bill-house-vote-11-18-21/index.html
