THE BIG DEAL IRS funding snags bipartisan infrastructure deal: A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators is looking to replace a proposal to provide $40 billion in new funding for the Internal Revenue Service, which is projected to net $100 billion in new revenues through tougher tax enforcement, because the idea is drawing heat from conservatives.
Members of the group and sources briefed on the discussion say that negotiators are looking for an alternative in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which is seen as a major source of revenue.
But there aren’t any obvious options for finding $100 billion in revenue to replace the IRS provision.
The visit was just hours after Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer
“We’re going to get this done,” Biden told reporters as he walked into the Senate, where he served for 36 years before becoming vice president in 2009. The Hill’s Alexander Bolton takes us to the halls of the Senate here.
What we know so far about the $3.5 trillion budget deal: Senate Democrats still need to hammer out some of the details, and legislative text has yet to be released. They also need to get all 50 members of their caucus on board with the proposal for it to pass without GOP support. That said, we’ve got a general idea of what the bill will include:
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THE BIG DEAL Spiking inflation weighs on Biden economic agenda: A surprising June spike in inflation has created another obstacle for President Biden
Biden and congressional Democrats are taking steps toward passing both a bipartisan infrastructure deal and a much larger party-line bill before the end of August, all while needing to raise the federal debt limit.
But new data shows there was an unexpected surge in consumer prices, putting the White House on the defensive after weeks of rallying support for Biden’s spending plans.
The Labor Department reported Tuesday that the consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, rose 0.9 percent in June and 5.4 percent in the 12 months leading into last month each the highest rate since 2008.
Senate Democrats are vowing to vote during this work period, tentatively scheduled to last through the first week of August, on both the budget resolution that green-lights reconciliation and the smaller bipartisan deal that would spend $1.2 trillion over eight years on infrastructure.
The Hill’s Jordain Carney has the latest here.
Brewing battle over tax hikes to test Democratic unity
: Even so, a brewing battle over tax policy is starting to heat up as lawmakers return to Washington for a crucial work period when both of those issues converge.
Schumer and Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee have discussed a $6 trillion reconciliation package that would include $2.4 trillion in tax increases and legislation to lower the price of prescription drugs that would save the federal government an estimated $600 billion over 10 years.