Democratic leaders have been pushing to get the social safety net bill through the House, but this pillar of Biden’s agenda will face big hurdles in the Senate

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal said she “feels very good about” the spending bill and that it will return from the Senate looking much like it does now, despite not being given assurances from Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema as she said she wanted.

“Now, there are a few things that aren’t pre-conferenced,” she added. “We’ll have to work those out, but I believe, through my own conversations with those senators, as well as the President’s own commitment that he is confident that we can get 51 votes, we’re going to get this done and get it done before Christmas, hopefully in the first weeks of December. And people are going to see once again that government’s got your back — that Democrats in the House, the Senate and the White House delivered for them.”

Jayapal did not elaborate on what in the bill was not pre-conferenced.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top House Democrats spoke to reporters after voting to pass President Biden’s sweeping spending bill.

“Today, we had the honor of participating in passing legislation for the people to build back better. As I always say, with women, for the children,” Pelosi said.

She lauded Biden, saying that while the infrastructure bill was “was very, very important,” it “was not the sum total of his vision.”

Pelosi said she is most excited about family medical leave in this legislation.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called the Build Back Better Act a “historic piece of legislation.”

“It’s big win for the people, for the average working men and women of America, for those who struggle every day and hope that somebody is on their side, somebody is listening to their pain and their struggle and their challenge,” Hoyer added. “This bill is an answer.”

Majority Whip James Clyburn said he thinks the act, combined with the infrastructure package and the American Rescue Plan Act, will address issues that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed in the US.

“I always talk about this being a great country. But the fact that we have not allowed this greatness to be accessible and affordable for all of our citizens, these three pieces of legislation accomplish that in a big way,” he said.

President Biden applauded the House’s passage of the Build Back Better Act Friday in a statement released by the White House, calling it a “giant step forward” for his agenda. 

He continued, “Now, the Build Back Better Act goes to the United States Senate, where I look forward to it passing as soon as possible so I can sign it into law.” 

The final tally of the spending bill vote was 220 to 213.

Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to vote against the bill and no Republicans voted for it.

Golden announced ahead of the final House vote that he would vote against the bill, citing the tax provision.

Golden did not rule out voting for the final package in the future.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the legislation against criticism that wealthy Americans will benefit disproportionately as a result of the provisions.

The House just passed President Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion spending bill, known as the Build Back Better Act – a major piece of legislation that would transform the nation’s social safety net, despite being whittled down to roughly half its original size amid infighting between the party’s moderate and progressive wings.

Now the bill must be taken up by the Senate, an effort that will put party unity to the ultimate test.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement after the House passed the bill that the Senate “will act as quickly as possible to get this bill to President Biden’s desk and deliver help for middle-class families.”

Schumer said they’ll take it up, “As soon as the necessary technical and procedural work with the Senate Parliamentarian has been completed.”

Senate Democrats have no margin of error to approve the legislation and key lawmakers — most prominently moderate West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin — have expressed concerns over elements of the plan as policy fights loom on the horizon.

Manchin told CNN on Thursday that he has not decided whether to support voting to proceed to the Build Back Better bill, the critical first vote to take up the measure in the Senate. Any one Democratic defection would stall the effort.

“No,” Manchin said when asked if he had made a decision to vote to proceed. “I’m still looking at everything.” The comments reflect that Manchin is still not on board with the legislation and signal the tough road ahead for Democrats.

The West Virginia Democrat said that he wants to see the final numbers from the Congressional Budget Office and changes made to the bill. “I just haven’t seen the final, the final bill. So when the final bill comes out, CBO score comes out, then we’ll go from there,” he said.

Manchin also reiterated his concerns about inflation. “Everyone’s concerned, they should be concerned about inflation, because it’s real. Inflation is real,” he said. “So we got to make sure we get through this the best we can, and put no more burden on them.”

A fight is also brewing over a controversial tax provision that some progressives have decried as a giveaway to the rich.

Earlier this month, House Democrats came to an agreement to deal with state and local tax deductions after Democrats from the Northeast and West Coast had pushed to loosen the caps imposed by the 2017 tax law. Under the SALT deal, deductions would be capped at $80,000 per year over a nine-year time span.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, on Thursday railed on the House provisions dealing with the state and local tax deductions, calling it “wrong” and “bad politics.”

The Build Back Better Act represents a central part of President Biden’s policy agenda and an attempt by congressional Democrats to go at it alone without GOP support to enact a major expansion of the social safety net.

The House and Senate recently passed, and Biden then signed into law, a separate $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, which marked a major legislative achievement for both parties.

The Build Back Better Act is an effort by Democrats to build on that investment in traditional infrastructure by making extensive investments to ramp up social programs and address the climate crisis.

Among its many provisions, the legislation would create a universal pre-K program, extend the enhanced child tax credit and expand access to health care, affordable housing and home care for seniors.

Democrats argue that the provisions in the bill are urgently needed and will widely benefit Americans. Republicans, meanwhile, have decried the legislation as a reckless and partisan tax and spending spree.

The Congressional Budget Office released its final scoring for the bill early Thursday evening, estimating that the package “would result in a net increase in the deficit totaling $367 billion,” according to a summary.

But the White House has worked to make the case that the bill will be fully paid for, despite the CBO analysis showing a shortfall.

The CBO analysis does not include revenue from tighter IRS enforcement. The CBO estimated earlier that would raise $207 billion.

The White House argues that increased IRS enforcement would actually raise more than what the CBO projects, meaning the bill would be fully paid for in their estimate.

Read more about the legislation here.

House Republicans called for a motion to reconsider after President Biden’s spending bill was passed on Friday.

This is a protest vote by the GOP, asking the House to undo the vote on the bill. 

It is set to fail.

After the House passed President Biden’s sweeping spending bill, known as the Build Back Better Act, the lawmakers will now head home for Thanksgiving.

The Senate is already out.

The bill will head to the Senate when lawmakers return, and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he hopes to have it on the floor by Christmas, putting it on a tight timeline even in the best of circumstances, CNN reporter Jessica Dean explained.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will speak with reporters soon, after House Democrats voted to pass President Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion social safety net expansion legislation.

It’s a victory for the party even as the legislation faces a tough road ahead in the Senate, and changes are expected.

The final vote was 220 to 213, with Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine voting against the bill. No Republicans voted for it.

The vote took place on Friday morning after House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy stalled an effort to vote Thursday evening by delivering a record-breaking marathon floor speech overnight.