The new bill includes spending and tax cuts targeted towards American families.
In addition to the infrastructure bill that unveiled in late March, President Biden introduced his latest investment to recover from the pandemic: the “American Families Plan.” The announcement came as part of his first joint address to congress on the 100th day of his presidency.
The package would include: a $500 billion investment in education including two free years of community college, another $500 billion for paid leave and universally free preschool, and $45 billion for school food programs and food stamps.
If it passes in congress, the bill will be paid for with increased taxes for high-income individuals, this comes in response to the increased wealth disparity that came with the pandemic and Trump era tax cuts for the rich. As he said in his address to congress “I will not add to the tax burden of the middle class of this country. They’re already paying enough.”
Democrats are likely to use budget reconciliation to pass the bill in Congress, allowing them to pass budget legislation with a majority instead of the usual 60 vote requirement. With reconciliation, the passing of the bill will rely on the few right-leaning Democrats who are reluctant to spend such large sums of money. Among them is Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia who is known for his opposition to progressive legislation. In response to the American Families plan, he said he was “very uncomfortable” with the amount of spending recently.
