WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — As talks on Joe Biden's supposedly "bipartisan" infrastructure deal have shown little to no progress for weeks, moderate Democrats in both the House and the Senate are withholding their endorsements with an eye on the 2022 Elections. And the increasing likelihood of a Democrat-only backed push for Mr. Biden’s $4 trillion tax increase & spending spree growing, a number of party insiders are on the verge of worry.
The propsects for 2022 are increasingly on Democrat's minds.
Making matters worse, months of negotiations are still likely – not least of which is due to the fact that lawmakers need to determine exactly how much new spending will be acceptable before they can begin crafting concrete tax increase proposals to fund the yet-to-be determined spending levels.
After Democrat President Joe Biden announced his plans for the first major set of tax increases since 1993 earlier this year, signs are growing that anxiety among Democrats in Congress will significantly temper any increases that manage to pass Congress.“We are trying to identify a menu of options” that can pass, said Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland in a recent interview.
“We need to get every one of your 50 Democrat Senators on board. There is no room for error.”
“We need to get every one of your 50 Democrat Senators on board. There is no room for error.”
The Treasury Department is said to be preparing its release of the administration’s most detailed tax proposals yet, a report known as the Green Book, to detail its annual wish list of fiscal policy proposals with explanations of the administration’s revenue proposals. Historically it has been released in support of the president’s annual budget request.
But congressional staff are already paring down the ideas previously floated by the Biden Administration, fine-tuning them in order to be seen as more workable from both policy and political standpoints, Democrat aides have said on condition of anonymity.
With the nascent economic recovery showing more than 8 million Americans still without jobs when compared to before the pandemic, some Democrats are growing weary of the criticisms that higher taxes could damage growth. Moderate Democrats in the House – vital to holding the party’s slim majority in next year’s elections – are well aware of Republicans’ success in portraying the Obama Administration’s tax & spending plans in a hard-to-defend message prior to the 2010 Midterm elections.
Biden’s initial proposals to increase "corporate taxes" from 21% to 28% hit a roadblock almost immediatly, when moderate Democrat Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he preferred a lower, more politically acceptable rate of 25%. At the same time, House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass) has begun floating various taxing options, saying he’s been inundated with ideas from colleagues who want him to craft an alternative package. While Neal has said he intends to move quickly, he’s mindful of the challenge to get an acceptable package through the 50-50 Senate.
“As closely as we can align ourselves with Senate thinking and administration thinking, the better off we are going to be,” Neal said recently.
“That’s why I’ve been so deliberative about not thinking out loud about tax policy. I’ve been very guarded on it, and I’m going to stay that way” until a consensus is reached among Democrats and on the panel, he said.
“That’s why I’ve been so deliberative about not thinking out loud about tax policy. I’ve been very guarded on it, and I’m going to stay that way” until a consensus is reached among Democrats and on the panel, he said.
Such machinations are viewed as an indication of the substantial challenges facing the Biden White House as it tries to finance the president’s sweeping legislative proposals on infrastructure and social spending.
While White House aides and Congressional Democrats continue to search for an agreement, and make the case with the American public that a tax increase is needed, Biden Administration speokesman have begun a new practice of citing "non-partisan polling" from CBS News, Monmouth University, the Morning Consult, and ABC/Washington Post as justification for using the term "bipartisan" – an indication Congressional Republicans intend to steer clear of, or fight any Biden Democrat tax increase.
With the new administration's honeymoon period in the rearview mirror, there's no guarantee Democrat lawmakers will be able to craft the tax increase package necessary to pay for their spending or "stimulus" plans ahead of the 2022 midterms.And there's plenty of the party lawmakers who remember the 2010 Elections following the controversial "Obamacare" health reform inititaves.
Democrats lost the House that November.
Neal, the Massachusetts Democrat, said he plans to possibly begin scheduling public hearings in June.
