Biden: Infrastructure Plan Will Transform America 0:59
(CNN) -
Senate Democrats passed a $ 3.5 trillion budget resolution Wednesday morning.
In this way, they set the stage in the coming weeks and months for the party to draw up and try to approve a broad economic package that will allow for the expansion of the social safety net.
This is something that President Joe Biden has made a distinctive item on the agenda.
In this way, he could move forward without the threat of obstruction from Republicans who oppose him.
The vote was 50-49 and the measure was approved after a long series of amendment votes known as "vote-a-branch."
Voting began Tuesday afternoon and lasted until just before 4 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
The House, controlled by Democrats, must then make and pass the budget resolution.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sent a letter to his colleagues Tuesday saying the House planned to return the week of Aug. 23 to consider the budget resolution.
The Republican Party responds to Biden's infrastructure plan with a $ 928 billion proposal
Biden welcomes Hispanic leaders to the White House 1:03
Passage of the budget resolution by both houses will unlock the Democrats' ability to use a process known as budget reconciliation.
This would be used to pass legislation in a party line vote that addresses health care, help for families, the climate crisis and more.
advertising
A first step
This Tuesday's vote is just the first step in what will be a long process.
The resolution must pass both houses before Democrats can move on to the reconciliation plan, which has yet to be drafted and will be considered in the fall.
Democrats will need to craft a far-reaching legislative package in such a way as to ensure the backing of all Senate Democrats, from moderates to progressives.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer cannot afford to lose a single vote within his legislative group in the 50-50 split house.
There, Vice President Kamala Harris can break the tie.
The effort to keep all Democrats in line will test leadership.
And there are already signs of the great challenge ahead.
Moderate Democratic senators Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia have backtracked on the bill.
This is a red flag to Democrats that they may have to lower their bill.
"Given the current state of economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at more appropriate levels to respond to a Great Depression or Great Recession. Not to an economy that is on the verge of overheating," Manchin said in a statement Wednesday.
Sinema has already said that she does not support a bill that costs US $ 3.5 trillion, although she has indicated that she is willing to negotiate.
Returning to the Capitol later this Wednesday, Schumer flatly declined to say whether he would agree to lower the budget and downplayed Manchin's concerns.
Biden celebrates bipartisan agreement on infrastructure 2:28
What does the government say?
When asked by CNN if he was willing to lower the upper limit, Schumer said: "Every part of Biden's proposal will be there in a big and solid way. There are some members in our legislative group that are fewer, there are some members in our group. legislative that are more. We are going to unite to achieve that goal. "
When asked on Wednesday whether the White House views Manchin as a team player in light of his remarks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: "Absolutely. And a key partner to the president." .
Manchin's statement, Psaki said, "unwittingly confused" some aspects of Biden's agenda.
Paski described Biden's broad social infrastructure agenda as "the cost-cutting agenda for working families" and said it will cut costs for child care, health care, preschool, prescription drugs, college, commute and household expenses.
"This is also an eight-year investment to make us more competitive," he said.
"This is not about putting a lot of money into the economy over the next several months. But these are critical investments."
Why does Pelosi veto 2 Republicans on a commission?
2:32
Complaints from Republicans
Republicans have denounced the plan as a wave of reckless spending for liberal priorities.
Democrats will also be subject to restrictions on what they can include in the budget reconciliation process.
The provisions have to directly impact the budget, and the Senate MP can rule that certain priorities cannot be included as a result.
The parliamentarian is responsible for advising the House on how its rules, protocols and precedents operate.
The budget resolution, which Senate Democrats formally released Monday, serves as a model for what they hope to include in the far-reaching package.
In addition, it sets a deadline of September 15 for the committees to present their reconciliation legislation.
According to a summary of the resolution, Democrats plan to invest in four main categories: families, climate, healthcare, and infrastructure and jobs.
Among other provisions, the measure seeks to establish universal pre-kindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds and make community colleges free for two years.
It also calls for the establishment of a Civilian Climate Corps, adds new dental, vision and hearing benefits to Medicare coverage, and would make a "historic level" of investment in affordable housing.
The resolution also aims to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and provide "green cards to millions of immigrant workers and their families."
Congressional Democrats are pursuing a two-track strategy to pass important infrastructure and economic laws.
Additionally, they have worked to promote bipartisan and partisan packages.
The infrastructure law
Earlier this Tuesday, the Senate passed a $ 1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill after painstaking and lengthy negotiations between a bipartisan group of senators and the Biden administration.
The push to pass a separate legislative package in a party line vote will allow Democrats to enact Biden's key priorities, which were left out of the bipartisan agreement.
These priorities go beyond the traditional definition of physical infrastructure.
The Senate Budget Committee says the reconciliation package investments will be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenue, health care savings and long-term economic growth.
The instructions also list the corporate and international tax reviews and the Internal Revenue Service tax application as options.
These were rejected by Republicans in the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
A memorandum to Democratic senators sent Monday specifies that new taxes would be banned for families earning less than $ 400,000 a year, small businesses and family farms.
CNN's Manu Raju and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
Democrat Senate