Ahead of crucial meeting, Pelosi says budget reconciliation must pass first

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday reiterated her support for prompt House passage of Senate Democrats’ budget resolution, ahead of a crucial meeting where her caucus will discuss the measure and a separate bipartisan infrastructure bill.

“We must not squander our Congressional Democratic Majorities and jeopardize the once-in-a-generation opportunity to create historic change to meet the needs of working families,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to her Democratic colleagues.

The House is returning to Washington on Monday to take up the budget resolution, which the Senate passed earlier this month. House approval of the resolution would pave the way for Democrats to pass a forthcoming $3.5 trillion Democrat-only bill, through the budget-reconciliation process, which is expected to include spending in areas such as education, child care, health care, housing and climate.

Pelosi and congressional progressives are seeking quick passage of the budget resolution and want to wait to pass the separate Senate-passed $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill until after the upper chamber passes the Democrat-only spending bill.

But a group of nine moderate House Democrats is threatening to vote against the budget resolution unless the House votes first on the infrastructure bill.

Democrats have a slim majority in the House, so nearly all House members in the party need to vote for the budget resolution for it to pass.

Pelosi said in her letter that there will be a caucus meeting Monday evening where Democratic lawmakers will discuss the path forward on both bills.

“The success of each bill contributes to the success of the other,” she said.

Pelosi also argued that the House needs to pass the budget resolution and subsequent reconciliation bill prior to passing the infrastructure bill, saying that doing so would ensure that Democrats are addressing the concerns of voters.

It’s essential that House Democrats “keep the faith with those who elected a Democratic Majority by addressing their needs, especially women, in a transformative way,” she wrote.