United States President Joe Biden reached an agreement in Congress with his own party on Thursday to be able to approve a huge $ 1.75 trillion social and climate change package. Although it will be one of the largest fiscal expansions in the history of the country, the head of the White House had to resign several of his proposals in order to reach a consensus.
The agreement arrived hours before Biden left at noon Heading to Europe, where he will meet with Pope Francis and other European leaders at the G20 summit and participate in the climate summit in Glasgow.
“It is a framework that will create millions of jobswill grow the economy, invest in our nation and our people, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity and put us on a path not only to compete, but to win economic competition for the 21st century, “said the president from the House White.
Biden celebrated the closing of weeks of negotiations, even though he had to cut his original spending plan in half because he had proposed a $ 3.5 billion package. That is why several campaign promises will be unfulfilled, such as paternity leave and free admission at community colleges.
Joe and Jill Biden before leaving for Rome. Photo Bloomberg
However, several of the original initiatives remained unscathed: Free preschool and kindergarten will be offered for 3- and 4-year-olds, an expansion that was not seen 100 years ago. Taxes will also be cut for households with children and also for those with clean energy and technologies.
The numbers
An investment of 150,000 million dollars It is planned for access to housing, even in rural areas, with the construction of more than a million houses for rent, aid for the payment of rent and to obtain a mortgage loan.
Republicans and also the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party, they were reluctant to raise public spending to such a size. Finally, before leaving for Rome, Biden offered a deal with large cuts to the original, which was accepted.
The federal harmonization of maternity and paternity leave, which depends on the states and companies, was abolished, in a major defeat for Biden. A drug tax reform disappeared as well.
Joe Biden and Vice Kamala Harris. Photo Bloomberg
The amount of investment in clean energy was greatly reduced. The idea of a tax on the 700 richest taxpayers to finance these measures was ruled out.
A minimum tax rate of 15% is foreseen for large companies, as well as a surcharge for billionaires and millionaires, in a plan that provides investments to fight tax evasion.
Wendy Schiller, Professor of Political Science at Brown University, highlighted Clarion that “the most important part of the social plan would be the expansion of the nurseries subsidized by the federal government (nationwide), not only as a tax credit, but as direct payments to providers of childcare services ”.
She explains that “the biggest problem faced by workers, especially women with children, is to find a nearby nursery, safe and affordable, and this is true for people of all income levels.
If the federal government starts paying daycare providers directly, and even subsidizing the creation of new daycare centers, that will have a big impact on the potential of workers’ income ”.
Schiller adds that the second part of the plan that will be a big change would be the extension of the universal “pre-kindergarten”, which is for 3- and 4-year-olds. So far, some states offer free preschool education for 4-year-olds, but not in all states.
Health
By expanding funding for states to include this in American education, “Biden increases access to education and it also helps alleviate childcare concerns, ”she said.
Thus, instead of sending a child to daycare at age 3 or 4, and perhaps qualifying for a federal grant, parents would have the option of enrolling their child in the public education system for free.
The expert highlights the political dimension of this package. In 1994, Democratic President Bill Clinton proposed a comprehensive health reform and failed to approve it; his party lost many seats in the midterm elections and control of the House and Senate, but was reelected in 1996.
In 2010, Democratic President Obama approved Obamacare and his party lost seats and control of the House (but not the Senate), but Obama was reelected in 2012. On both occasions, the Democrats failed to “sell” their programs to the American people and the Republicans were very effective in timing. to oppose these programs ”.
But he cautions that beyond this bill finally getting passed, “then they have to work really hard to persuade Americans that the federal government is now giving them something they need and want and that Democrats should be rewarded for it.” .
“If they can do it in a unified way, they may retain their jobs in November 2022. If not, many of them will lose their seats. But Biden, like Clinton and Obama, could still win reelection in 2024 even if Democrats lose control of Congress, “he added.
Biden left for Rome for the G20 leaders’ summit.
According to the agenda released by the White House, the president will meet with Pope Francis, then with Italian President Sergio Mattarella; the Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, with whom will try to put cold cloths to the tension caused by the military agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
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