Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Tuesday that the $2 trillion Build Back Better Act is not dead, despite West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s decision to oppose it in the 50-50 Senate.
Democratic leaders were trying to pass the sweeping legislation with only votes from Democrats using budget reconciliation to avoid the legislative filibuster.
Schumer was asked if he would be moving forward with standalone bills reflecting certain provisions of the House-passed version of the Build Back Better Act.
“We’re continuing to have discussions and we will be moving forward on Build Back Better. You will see how we do that as we move forward,” Schumer said. “We want to get as much of Build Back Better done as we can and you will see us move forward on it.”
Some Democrats, including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, have suggested voting on a Build Back Better package that includes permanent expansion of Obamacare subsidies as well as the prescription drug pricing provisions in the original bill.
Schumer mentioned that Senate Democratic leaders plan to pass a new version of the China competition bill that passed the Senate more than 7 months ago. House Democrats recently introduced their own version of the Senate-passed bill. The legislation includes over $50 billion for manufacturers of computer chips to improve supply chain security amid shortages.
“I am very optimistic we will get this bill done very shortly,” he said.
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