The House is set to pass a roughly $2 trillion education, healthcare and climate package Friday, as Democrats corralled their slim majority to approve the centerpiece of President Biden’s economic agenda after months of wrangling, the Wall Street Journal reported. While the House vote would put Democrats closer to unifying their fractious centrist and progressive wings behind the bill, the party will still need to move the legislation through the evenly divided Senate. There, lawmakers are planning to change or pare back some of the bill’s provisions in the coming weeks. Democrats initially hoped to pass the bill Thursday night, but an hourslong speech by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) slamming the legislation prompted Democrats to postpone the vote until Friday after 8 a.m. Republicans have united against the bill, arguing that it would exacerbate rising inflation and slow the economy’s growth. The bill calls for creating a universal prekindergarten program, capping child-care costs for many families, negotiating lower prescription drug prices and expanding tax credits for reducing carbon emissions, among other programs. In addition to expanding tax-enforcement efforts at the Internal Revenue Service, the legislation raises taxes on some corporations and very high-income Americans.
