By LISA MASCARO, AAMER MADHANI and ALAN FRAM
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden traveled to Capitol Hill early Thursday to make the case to House Democrats for a dramatically scaled-back domestic policy package, $1.75 trillion of social services and climate change programs the White House believes can pass the 50-50 Senate.
Biden is eager to have a deal in hand before he departs later in the day for global summits, but the revised new package is losing some of Democrats’ top priorities as the president’s campaign ambitions make way for the political realities of the narrowly divided Congress.
A paid family leave and efforts to lower prescription drug pricing are now gone entirely from the package, according to senior administration officials who requested anonymity to brief reporters about the emerging details.
Still in the mix: Free prekindergarten for all youngsters, expanded health care programs — including the launch of a $35 billion new hearing aid benefit for seniors on Medicare — and $555 billion to tackle climate change.
There’s also a one-year extension of a child care tax credit that was put in place during the COVID-19 rescue, new child care subsidies and $100 billion to bolster the legal immigration and border processing system.
Asked as he arrived on Capitol Hill if he has enough support from his party for passage, Biden told reporters: “Yes.”
Taking shape after months of prolonged negotiations, the White House cast the overall package as the largest-ever investment in climate change and the biggest improvement to the nation’s healthcare system in more than a decade.
