'I think we’re pretty much there'

Home » Unlabelled » 'I think we’re pretty much there'

'I think we’re pretty much there'

October 25, 2021

Stephen Collinson and Caitlin Hu

'I think we're pretty much there'

Joe Biden's big bet on multi-trillion infrastructure, social spending and climate programs could finally be about to pay off — albeit on a smaller scale than once hoped.

If moderate and left-wing Democrats finally manage to bury their differences and agree how to target spending on health care, education and anti-poverty programs this week, Biden will claim a genuinely impressive domestic legacy. He'll also get a big boost heading into a crucial trip abroad, that will see the President take part in the G20 summit in Italy and seek to claim global environmental leadership at the UN climate conference in Scotland.

US credibility there will depend Biden's ability to get emissions cutting measures past Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who represents the coal state of West Virginia. The President buttered up Manchin with a rare invitation to his home in Wilmington, Delaware on Sunday. The veteran Democrat's vote is make-or-break in the 50-50 Senate.

Of course, we've been here before, and ideological divisions between Democrats have previously shattered hopes of an agreement. What is different now is that Biden is selling Democrats on the need to scale down the spending package -- originally set at $3.5 trillion -- to get moderates like Manchin on board. Progressives who previously refused to trim their goals seem to have accepted that politics is the art of the possible.

A lot could still go wrong. But for those in the US and around the world who want Biden's presidency to succeed, these are days worth paying attention to.

'I think we're pretty much there'

Democrats are planning to have an "agreement" on a framework for President Joe Biden's sweeping social safety net plan and a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the next week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday. The goal among Democratic leaders is to have a vote Wednesday or Thursday on the infrastructure package and send it to Biden's desk, a source briefed on the plan says. Asked if they'll have a deal on the Democratic spending bill by the time Biden leaves for Europe later this week, Pelosi said, "I think we're pretty much there now."

Subscribe to Meanwhile in America

The world and America

Colombia's most-wanted drug lord was captured.

Sweden and Pakistan warned that Afghanistan is hurtling toward collapse.

The US, German and French ambassadors to Turkey were declared persona non grata.

Meanwhile, Americans have imported tens of millions of used medical gloves.

Two children were killed at a drag racing accident in Texas.

And Florida is ditching palm trees.

'We've been there'

The Biden administration is launching a program that would allow veterans with ties to Afghans, as well as others, to sponsor recently evacuated refugees and help them settle locally, reports CNN's Priscilla Alvarez. The new initiative allows groups of five adults to apply to become a so-called "sponsor circle," responsible for helping resettle refugees by supporting them to find housing, access federal benefits like medical services, and enroll kids in school. "We've been there. We understand what it's like to come from that experience and then find yourself dropped into this environment and how quite frankly overwhelming that it can be," said Matt Zeller, a security fellow at the Truman National Security Project who said he's willing to open up his home to Afghans and their families.

Battle lines

The Potomac River on the Maryland/West Virginia line in Allegany County.

Republicans in three Maryland counties are saying, "Take me home, to the place  (we) belong ... West Virginia."

The lawmakers want to join the Mountain state, one of the poorest in the Union. They see the rest of Maryland as dominated by the heavily Democratic Washington suburbs and the city of Baltimore, while western Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties -- which abut West Virginia -- voted overwhelmingly for former President Donald Trump in 2020.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice thinks this is a swell idea. "Absolutely, without any question, the invitation is wide open," Justice, a Republican, said Friday, adding, "We want everyone to always know that we're absolutely standing here with open arms, we welcome these counties and would be tickled to death to have them."

But it's too early to start redrawing the map of the United States just yet. For the counties to leave Maryland, the state's Democrat-run legislature situated in the coastal city of Annapolis would have to agree. Maryland isn't a political monolith -- it after all does have a moderate Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who may mount a long-shot run for President in 2024 -- but no state wants to lose territory and taxpayers.

The effort to quit Maryland is something of a stunt since boundary changes to US states are very rare. But it does reflect the growing tension between urban and rural Americans that increasingly defines the country's tortured politics.

In many areas, conservatives have increasing disregard for compatriots whose more liberal and diverse social views they see as a threat to their culture and identity. And in places like Texas, big liberal cities blanch at hardline conservative leaders' stances on issues like abortion and masking. So much of the current US politics turns on two halves of an estranged populace moving further and further apart.

Shepherds guided their flocks through the heart of Madrid for their annual migration on Sunday to southerly pastures for winter grazing.

Thanks for reading.

On Monday, Biden will travel to Newark, New Jersey to continue rallying support for his infrastructure deal. The UK parliament will hear evidence from Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager. And the World Meteorological Organization issues an update on greenhouse gases, one week ahead of the opening of the UN climate summit in Glasgow.