Happy Wednesday and welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. Subscribe here: digital-release.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.
Today’s Big Deal: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is lining up a vote on President Biden’s agenda whether Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is ready or not. We’ll also look at the Democratic push for paid leave and the Federal Reserve’s tapering decision.
But first, find out why Tom Hanks passed up on a rocket ride with Jeff Bezos.
For The Hill, I’m Sylvan Lane. Write me at slane@digital-release.thehill.com or @SylvanLane. You can reach my colleagues on the Finance team Naomi Jagoda at njagoda@digital-release.thehill.com or @NJagoda and Aris Folley at afolley@digital-release.thehill.com or @ArisFolley.
Let’s get to it.
Speaker presses ahead on vote
House Democrats said Wednesday they were switching tactics and plowing ahead with a vote on President Biden’s sweeping social spending and climate package later this week, without getting a commitment from key Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) that he will support the legislation.
- For weeks, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her leadership team had worked to strike a deal with Manchin and fellow centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on the front end before bringing Biden’s Build Back Better plan to the floor, a strategy Democrats believed would smooth the bill’s path to the president’s desk.
- But Manchin has refused to sign off on the package, saying Wednesday that the GOP’s electoral victories in Virginia on Tuesday should cause Democrats to pump the brakes on Biden’s $1.75 trillion spending plan.
The upshot: Frustrated House leaders instead pressed their foot on the gas pedal, pledging to bring both the Senate-passed infrastructure package and social safety net bill to the floor.
“We’re gonna get ‘em done,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), a Pelosi ally, said of the pair of bills after leaving a 90-minute closed-door Democratic caucus meeting. “I think we’re together. I think there’s been a lot of progress. We’re gonna get it done.”
Scott Wong has the latest here.
A MESSAGE FROM CITI
Tackling the startup world’s gender, race and ethnic funding gap.
With our $200 million Impact Investment Fund we are seeking opportunities to invest in businesses that are led or owned by women and minority entrepreneurs, helping to create equitable access to venture capital funding.
LEADING THE DAY
Dems take on Manchin, make renewed push for family leave
House Democrats on Wednesday resurrected a long-sought paid family leave proposal as part of their social spending package in defiance of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
Manchin, whose vote is essential for passage of the bill in the evenly divided Senate, doubled down on his opposition and insisted the social spending package is the “wrong place” for the paid leave proposal.
But the push from House Democrats to revive paid leave is a signal that they are willing to put up a bigger fight over it, even while they’re desperately trying to nail down a deal as fast as possible.
“The reality is we need to pass both bills and that’s what we’re doing. Because this is what ultimately says to people we understand you’re in pain. I think last night’s elections were about people being in pain,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the Congressional Progressive Caucus leader.
Here’s more from Cristina Marcos and Aris Folley.
ON THE TABLE
House, Senate Dems offer different approaches on SALT
House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday floated proposals on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction that take different approaches amid efforts by the lawmakers to finalize their social spending package.
Both proposals stop short of fully repealing the $10,000 cap on the SALT deduction created by Republicans’ 2017 tax law, and are designed to not add to the deficit.
However, the two proposed measures otherwise have key differences. Naomi walks us through them here.
A MESSAGE FROM CITI
Tackling the startup world’s gender, race and ethnic funding gap.
With our $200 million Impact Investment Fund we are seeking opportunities to invest in businesses that are led or owned by women and minority entrepreneurs, helping to create equitable access to venture capital funding.
Good to Know
The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday its first step toward paring back the support for financial markets it has deployed since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic roiled the economy last year.
Here’s what else we have our eye on:
- U.S. private sector businesses beat market expectations by adding 571,000 workers in October, according to a Wednesday report released by payroll processor ADP.
- President Biden has ramped up efforts to repair the U.S.-European Union trade relationship and form a united Western front against China with a recent deal to ease Trump-era steel and aluminum tariffs.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.{mosads}