The House Ways and Means Committee adopted a large part of the Democratic Party's $3.5 trillion social spending plan on Wednesday, including measures that would increase taxes on high-income people and businesses to cover the cost of additional spending.
Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill.
Approved Portions in the $3.5 Trillion Social Spending Package
In a recently published article in The Hill, the bill passed the committee by a vote of 24-19, almost entirely along party lines. It now goes to the House Budget Committee, which will put together the different components of the spending plan that have been approved by House committees. The Ways and Means Committee adopted legislation on Wednesday that covers a broad variety of Democratic objectives.
It would increase infrastructure financing mechanisms, the low-income housing tax credit, and renewable energy tax credits, among other things. It would also prolong until 2025 most of the child tax credit increase passed by Democrats earlier this year while making the benefit fully refundable so that low-income families may get the entire credit amount.
In addition, the bill contains numerous health-related measures, including extending ObamaCare subsidies and allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prescription medication pricing, according to a published report in Daily Advent.
Democrats, Panel Think the Approval Is a Way To Advance Biden's Economic Agenda
Democrats view the social spending bill as a chance to promote President Biden's economic agenda and make long-awaited investments in the social safety net and climate change mitigation.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal (D-Massachusetts) praised the legislative measures soon after they were passed on Wednesday, claiming that the planned investments will make the country more affluent, equal, and fair, according to a report published in The New York Times.
Neal said that this is not the time to be stingy with money. Democrats should be establishing these norms, and he thinks the country is on their side. Furthermore, Democrats want to use reconciliation, a procedural maneuver that enables them to avoid the Senate filibuster to approve the whole $3.5 trillion plan in the coming weeks.
Republicans Criticize the Approval and Offer Some Amendments
Rep. Kevin Brady, the committee's senior Republican, slammed the plans on the last day of markup on Wednesday, calling them an "economic surrender" to rivals and raising worries about inflation. He said that the government is wasting too much and it kills many American jobs.
Additionally, Republicans proposed a number of amendments to emphasize parts of the measure with which they disagreed, but none of them were accepted.
The Only Democrat Who Opposed the Approval of the Portions in the $3.5 Trillion Spending Package
Murphy, the lone Democrat who voted against the bill, said in a statement that she likes many of the measures, but that there are certain spending and tax elements that give her pause.
She said that she cannot support and vote for the bill at this early stage. Murphy also stressed that as the process progresses, she is confident that the overall reconciliation package will be properly targeted and financially prudent, with tax measures that promote justice without harming working people paying for it.
Related Article: House Ways and Means Committee Includes 5-Year Extension of Child Tax Credit in the $3.5 Social Spending Plan
