A massive filibuster-proof budget reconciliation package worth as much as $6 trillion over a decade — of which half could be deficit-financed — is taking shape within the Senate Democratic caucus, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Nearly half of the tentative outline, first reported by Politico, would run through the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the tax code and federal health care entitlements, among other things.
Senate Democrats are aiming for a preliminary deal on the budget plan’s outlines before the July Fourth recess, while bipartisan talks on a smaller, infrastructure-only plan continue on a separate track.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., met with Budget Committee Democrats on Wednesday and said he’ll meet with Democratic members of the bipartisan infrastructure negotiating team on Thursday.
The $6 trillion total Senate Democrats are floating overshoots President Joe Biden’s infrastructure and other plans by about $2 trillion.
Top Democrats like Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have said they plan to use the budget measure to add items not specifically included in Biden’s budget, such as lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60 and expanding the program’s benefits to dental, vision and hearing coverage.
After the Supreme Court upheld the 2010 health care law on Friday, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chair Patty Murray said she was working with House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., on a follow-on health care package to include a public insurance option for the law’s exchanges. Murray, D-Wash., added she’s ready to work with Biden and colleagues on lowering prescription drug costs and expanding Medicare.
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