House Democrats delay vote on massive spending bill Spending bill vote delayed until Friday
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer tells CNN the House will come back at 8 a.m. ET on Friday.
Democrats had been hoping to pass the legislation Thursday evening, but House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has so far brought action to a halt for more than three hours by delivering a lengthy speech railing against Democrats on the House floor.
“He wants to do it in the dead of night. We are going to do it in the day," Hoyer told CNN referring to when McCarthy wants the bill to be passed.
Hoyer also told CNN that he only knows of one Democratic defection, Jared Golden of Maine. Hoyer says they have the votes to pass the legislation.
The sweeping $1.9 trillion economic legislation stands as a key pillar of Biden's domestic agenda. It would deliver on long-standing Democratic priorities by dramatically expanding social services for Americans, working to mitigate the climate crisis, increasing access to health care and delivering aid to families and children.
Once the legislation passes the House, it will face key hurdles in the Senate, with a fight looming over a controversial tax provision and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia still not on board.
McCarthy has now been speaking for more than 3 hours ahead of vote on Build Back Better Act
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy has been speaking for longer than three hours, and it's unclear when he will stop.
McCarthy started speaking at 8:38 p.m. ET.
Under the procedures of the House, the majority leader and the minority leader get what's called a "Magic Minute" at the end of floor debate. That means lawmakers can speak for as long as they want.
McCarthy has been railing on all aspects of the Democratic Party and the Biden administration, delaying the final vote of the Build Back Better Act.
Some context: Nancy Pelosi, as minority leader in 2018, employed a similar tactic, speaking for more than eight hours on the House floor in a speech about young undocumented immigrants. Her speech was the longest in House history.
Budget watchdog estimates cost of Build Back Better bill at $2.4 trillion
Based on the Congressional Budget Office's analysis, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the cost of the Build Back Better bill is $2.4 trillion and would add $160 billion to deficits over the next decade and $750 billion to deficits over the next five years.
Where things stand on Capitol Hill: House Democrats are gearing up to pass President Biden's plan to dramatically expand the social safety net with leadership racing to secure a legislative victory for the party even as major obstacles await in the Senate.
Democrats had been waiting for cost estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office before voting on the legislation after moderates demanded the information.
CBO released its final scoring for the bill early Thursday evening, estimating that the package "would result in a net increase in the deficit totaling $367 billion over the 2022-2031 period, not counting any additional revenue that may be generated by additional funding for tax enforcement," according to a summary released.
The White House is now trying to make the case that the bill will be fully paid for, despite the CBO analysis showing a shortfall.
众议院民主党推迟对大规模支出法案的投票
支出法案投票推迟到周五
多数党领袖 Steny Hoyer 告诉 CNN，众议院将于美国东部时间周五上午 8 点复会。
民主党一直希望在周四晚上通过这项立法，但众议院共和党领袖凯文麦卡锡迄今为止在众议院发表了一篇针对民主党的冗长演讲，从而使行动停止了三个多小时。
“他想在夜深人静的时候做这件事。我们将在当天完成，”霍耶告诉 CNN，指的是麦卡锡希望该法案何时获得通过。
霍耶还告诉美国有线电视新闻网，他只知道一名民主党叛逃者，缅因州的贾里德·戈登。霍耶说他们有通过立法的投票权。
规模达 1.9 万亿美元的经济立法是拜登国内议程的关键支柱。它将通过显着扩大为美国人提供的社会服务、努力减轻气候危机、增加获得医疗保健的机会以及向家庭和儿童提供援助来实现民主党长期以来的优先事项。
一旦立法通过众议院，它将在参议院面临关键障碍，一场有争议的税收条款即将展开，西弗吉尼亚州的民主党参议员乔曼钦仍未加入。
麦卡锡现在已经在“重建更好法案”投票前发言了 3 个多小时
众议院共和党领袖凯文麦卡锡已经发言超过三个小时，目前还不清楚他什么时候会停止。
麦卡锡于晚上 8 点 38 分开始讲话。 ET。
根据众议院的程序，多数党领袖和少数党领袖在辩论结束时获得所谓的“魔术分钟”。这意味着立法者可以随心所欲地发言。
麦卡锡一直在抨击民主党和拜登政府的方方面面，推迟了“重建更好法案”的最终投票。
一些背景：南希佩洛西，作为 2018 年的少数党领袖，采用了类似的策略，在众议院发表了超过 8 个小时的关于年轻无证移民的演讲。她的演讲是众议院历史上最长的演讲。
预算监督机构估计重建更好法案的成本为 2.4 万亿美元
根据国会预算办公室的分析，负责任的联邦预算委员会估计“重建更好”法案的成本为 2.4 万亿美元，并将在未来十年内增加 1600 亿美元的赤字，并在未来五年内增加 7500 亿美元的赤字。
国会山的情况：众议院民主党人正准备通过拜登总统的计划，以大幅扩大社会安全网，领导层竞相确保该党在立法方面取得胜利，即使参议院面临重大障碍。
在温和派要求提供信息之后，民主党人一直在等待无党派国会预算办公室的成本估算，然后才对立法进行投票。
CBO 在周四晚间早些时候发布了对该法案的最终评分，估计该计划“将导致 2022-2031 年期间赤字净增加 3670 亿美元，不包括额外税收资金可能产生的任何额外收入。执法，”根据发布的摘要。
尽管 CBO 的分析显示存在缺口，但白宫现在正试图证明该法案将得到全额支付。
