Infrastructure bill a done deal, Build Back Better is next

WASHINGTON — The House voted 221 - 213 to clear a procedural hurdle for President Joe Biden's $1.75 trillion safety net package after a chaotic day that included passage of a separate infrastructure bill.

The vote came after weeks of missed deadlines and then hours of wrangling between Democrats that ended in a pact between progressives and centrists. Progressives agreed to pass the bipartisan physical infrastructure bill and centrists promised to vote for the Build Back Better bill after an estimate about the bill's price is completed.

While a date for a vote on the $1.75 trillion bill hasn't been set yet, Biden said he felt confident it would happen over the next two weeks.

"I am confident that during the week of November 15th, the House will pass the Build Back Better Act," Biden said in a statement before the vote.

An agreement between centrist Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was announced moments before the vote on the infrastructure bill.
The Build Back Better legislation must now pass the House before it can be considered by the Senate, where esoteric rules and hesitation from centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will likely trim some of the House-backed provisions.
The skeptical group of Democrats included Reps. Gottheimer, Stephanie Murphy, of Florida, Ed Case, of Hawaii, Kurt Schrader, of Oregon, and Kathleen Rice, of New York.
They said in a statement they "commit to voting for the Build Back Better Act, in its current form other than technical changes, as expeditiously as we receive fiscal information from the Congressional Budget Office" consistent with White House estimates that it was paid for, NBC news reported.
Progressives, who had held up the bill for months, had insisted on Senate passage of the bill first, but ultimately compromised on that after centrist commitments that both bills would pass.

"As part of this agreement, at the request of the President, and to ensure we pass both bills through the House, progressives will advance the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the House rule on Build Back Better tonight," Jayapal said.

After planning votes Friday on the two bills, Democratic leaders changed course at the last minute, announcing they'd vote on the infrastructure bill while leaving the other one for another day.