Jayapal: $1.5 trillion reconciliation bill is ‘not going to happen’

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said on Sunday she was not willing to go as low as $1.5 trillion in negotiations for the Democratic-backed reconciliation bill that has stalled in Congress after that price tag was floated by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) last week.

When asked by CNN’s Dana Bash about support such a topline spending limit, Jayapal firmly rejected that figure. 

“Well, that’s not going to happen,” she told Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That’s too small to get our priorities in. So, it’s going to be somewhere between $1.5 and $3.5.” 

Jayapal, however, would not specify what number she would agree to as a potential compromise. 

“I don’t feel the need to give a number, because I gave my number. It was $3.5,” she said. “So, if you’re in a negotiation, you need to have a counteroffer before you bid against yourself.” 

Jayapal added that her priority was focused on including “critical programs” in the bill rather than the price.

“There’s no number on the table yet that… everyone has agreed to,” Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal tells @DanaBashCNN when asked about the ongoing negotiations on the larger spending package. Adding, $1.5 trillion is “too small to get our priorities in.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/KV2EZ3Ig49

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) October 3, 2021

When asked if she was open to a potential $2.1 trillion budget floated by the Biden administration last week when it was clear House Democrats did not have the votes to pass infrastructure and reconciliation, Jayapal reiterated that money limits was not her priority. 

“What we have said from the beginning is, it’s never been about the price tag,” she said. “It’s about what we want to deliver. The price tag comes out of that.”