Gone were the expansive warnings about the
“existential threat” of climate change, explicit promises to advance “racial
equity” in infrastructure projects and even the name of his $2.2 trillion Build
Back Better package of social welfare and climate spending, once promoted as a
transformative initiative akin to the Great Society programs of the 1960s.
Instead, Biden described his agenda as a solution to the “rising cost of food,
gas, housing,” pivoting to more centrist language in a nod to disaffected
moderate Democrats who have pushed for their party to focus on the daily
concerns of voters before midterm elections they are expected to lose. But while Biden changed his message, he
spent much of his speech calling on Congress to resurrect pieces of his stalled
domestic agenda, including expanding child care, lowering prescription drug
prices and a minimum wage raise proposal that faltered in the Senate early in
his term. And it was not clear how successful Biden would be in salvaging
pieces of the social policy package, which fell apart late last year amid
opposition from key moderates in his party. There were glimmers of hope Wednesday for
reviving some aspects of Biden’s plan. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a
centrist Democrat who abruptly ended talks over the sprawling spending plan in
December, outlined the broad strokes of a package he could support, after weeks
of declining to discuss details. And Biden continued his rebranding effort
during a trip Wednesday to Duluth, Minnesota, to promote the bipartisan
infrastructure package, framing his plan as a way of providing economic relief
for struggling families. “These guys talk about how they’re always
worried about spending,” Biden said, in what appeared to be a reference to
moderate holdouts and Republicans. “We’re lowering the deficit.” Vulnerable Democrats who for months have
fretted privately that the president’s expansive spending plans were not
resonating with their constituents said they were relieved about the pivot. “One of our issues this past fall was we
were treating legislation like a Christmas tree, and everyone’s favourite
bauble got to get on the tree,” said Rep Elissa Slotkin. “What we heard last
night, without using these exact words was, ‘My agenda is now more prioritized’
— and the priorities overlapped with what people are talking about in my
district.” On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Manchin
offered some new details about how he would seek to narrow Biden’s agenda. In
an interview with Politico, and later in comments to reporters, Manchin said
Democrats should first raise revenue by undoing some of the 2017 Republican tax
law and approving legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs. From
there, he said, the money should be used to both reduce the deficit and fund at
least one major Democratic priority over a decade. “Half of that money should be dedicated to
fighting inflation and reducing the deficit, the other half you can pick for a
10-year program — whatever you think is the highest priority,” Manchin told
reporters, noting that several of his colleagues wanted to focus on combating
climate change. “Everybody knows pretty much where I am,”
he added. “If they’re not serious about inflation and debt, then you know, it’d
be hard for me to negotiate.” It remained unclear whether all Democrats
would rally behind such a plan, a virtual necessity with their razor-thin
majorities. It could alienate progressives, abandoning huge programs that they
have championed. And it could also meet resistance from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of
Arizona, another Democratic centrist, who has balked at increasing tax rates
for corporations and wealthy individuals, one result of rolling back the 2017
tax law. A spokesperson, Hannah Hurley, suggested
that Sinema’s stance should be no impediment, because she had already embraced
tax increases large enough to finance a “narrow plan.” Many Democrats said that given the
obstacles to Biden’s initial, far-reaching plan, they were ready to rally
around a piecemeal approach of the sort Manchin laid out. “I’ll take whatever works,” declared Sen
Elizabeth Warren. “There’s no way around the math, so we’ve got to find out
what 50 of us can agree on.” With all 50 Republicans opposed, all 50
senators who caucus with Democrats would have to support the proposal for it to
pass with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote in the evenly divided
Senate. The White House has fielded calls for
months to distance the president from congressional wrangling and describe how
his proposals would address the rising inflation stoking anxiety in his party
and driving down his approval ratings. Biden’s top aides privately discussed
whether the Build Back Better label had become a hindrance to negotiations,
according to a senior administration official, who conceded that the final
version of the package would look very different from the sprawling bill
proposed last year. Moderate Democrats said they appreciated
what they saw as a concerted effort to connect with voters in their states and
districts. By highlighting popular components of the larger bill without
putting them under a single, sweeping title, Biden may have made them more
palatable, they said. “When I go back to the state of Montana, I
hear about how people hate Build Back Better,” said Sen Jon Tester. “But then
they say we need some help with child care, we need some help with housing, we
need some help with elder care, we need to do something about climate change.
So I think he struck the right tone.” Democrats in politically competitive
districts have called for Biden to focus more on modest proposals on crime,
combating the pandemic and rising costs. A group of moderates had put together
a lengthy list of bipartisan bills — “singles and doubles,” said Rep Josh
Gottheimer — and presented them to the White House chief of staff, Ron Klain,
as measures that could pass in rapid succession and send the message to voters
that Washington can operate. The group received a positive response from
the White House, according to Slotkin, who welcomed Biden’s focus on inflation,
supply chain problems and veterans issues. Biden’s top aides also saw the State of the
Union as an opportunity to push back on cultural attacks from Republicans on
crime and immigration. Moderate Democrats latched on to Biden’s mention of the
need for improved security at the border and his long-held call to invest in
police departments. But a few liberal Democrats expressed
frustration that the president not only glossed over some of their key
priorities, such as student loan relief, but also devoted time to rejecting the
slogan “defund the police,” which some of them have championed. “It’s unnecessary — we don’t need to feed
into this rhetoric and these attacks from Republicans,” said Rep Cori Bush, who
remained seated in the House gallery as Republicans and Democrats jumped to
their feet and applauded Biden’s declaration that “the answer is not to defund
the police.” “They don’t get to dictate to us what we
need and how we can speak,” Bush said. “What we need to do is fix the problem.” © 2022 The New York Times Company