AFP, Washington :
US President Joe Biden admitted Thursday that he probably won’t be able to push through a massive social spending bill that is crucial to his legacy as quickly as he had hoped.
Referring to tough talks he has held recently with Democrat Joe Machin, a senator from the predominantly Republican state of West Virginia and whose vote is key to passing the bill, Biden said: “It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote.”
“We will advance this work together over the days and weeks ahead,” he said in a statement.
In other words, the initial hope of the Democratic president — to have the bill definitively voted on before the end of the year — seems to be fading.
“I believe that we will bridge our differences and advance the Build Back Better plan, even in the face of fierce Republican opposition,” he said of his talks with Manchin. The Build Back Better bill aims to funnel $1.75 trillion to lower the cost of childcare and drugs, support the purchasing power of households and to invest in the transition to clean energy.
