Progressive House Democrats hold off Biden’s $1.75 trillion spending bill

The House of Representatives in the United States postponed a vote on an infrastructure package as progressives sought more time to deliberate President Joe Biden’s request for a separate $1.75 trillion plan for climate change, preschool, and other social programs.

Biden used personal appeals to rally his party behind a climate and social spending package, pushing for a vote on the same day on the $1 trillion infrastructure measure.

Representative Pramila Jayapal, a House progressive leader, said some members wanted the two legislation linked and refused to vote for one without the other.

Progressive House Democrats insisted that an agreement should be reached first before pushing for the larger social spending bill.

Biden’s program was moving through Congress more slowly than the president wanted but is still on track, according to White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Psaki said that the administration remains confident that both the Build Back Better Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will be passed soon.