Nancy Pelosi ‘Confident’ Democrats Will Reach Agreement In Social Spending Bill For Biden Agenda

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday she thinks Democrats will be able to strike up a deal for the social spending bill that would help progress the bipartisan infrastructure bill before the week is over and save President Joe Biden’s agenda.

In an appearance on the CNN program “State of the Union,” Pelosi revealed Democrats could reach a deal by the end of the week, when Biden is scheduled for a trip to Europe.

“We have 90% of the bill agreed to and written, we just have some of the last decisions to be made,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi claimed they were working on cleaning up the language of the bill amid pushback from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who wants the cost of the bill to be lowered and opposed Biden’s clean power plan (CPP).

“We will have something that will meet the president’s goals, I feel very confident about that,” Pelosi said.

“We’re almost certain [we have a deal], it’s just the language of it. It will not offend, shall we say, the concern that Sen. Manchin had about the CPP. The point is to reach your goals, and the president’s goals of reaching the emissions, the pollution and all the rest … there are other ways to reach the goal.”

Democrats have been forced to scale back their initial price tag of the $3.5 trillion to $2 trillion or less in Biden’s Build Back Better initiative. However, Pelosi noted the bill will still have a major impact on Americans.

“It is less than what was projected to begin with, but it is still bigger than anything we’ve done in terms of addressing the needs of American working families,” Pelosi said. “Nonetheless, the point is to reach a goal.

Cutting the cost of the infrastructure bill means some elements of the bill may be compromised. However, Pelosi appeared confident that the child tax credit and expanded health care would remain in the bill.

When asked if she thought plans for paid family leave and other social components would survive, Pelosi seemed uncertain. “That’s our hope,” she said. “That’s what we’re fighting for.”

The Democratic infighting has delayed the progress in the passing of the bill due to several disputes, including how to pay for it and what will be included in the final package.