Lawmakers look to finalize an economic package that Democrats hope will boost their election prospects #democracy #freedom
With inflation on the rise and coronavirus cases once again climbing, lawmakers are set to return to Washington this week and confront pitched fights over the financial and physical health of the country.
For Democratic leaders, the list includes a need to confirm a slate of nominees for the Federal Reserve, finalize about $10 billion in stalled pandemic aid and refashion the White House signature social spending initiative, which has been bogged down for more than a year.
Each of the debates promises to train attention on the vexing state of the economy. Unemployment is low, yet labor needs remain high. Wages have grown while prices are on a steep incline. National gauges for inflation alone reached their highest levels in four decades last month, a spike that left lawmakers hearing an earful from voters in their states and districts during the recess.
“They’re concerned about the rising costs of living, and that’s everything from the rising costs of gas to groceries,” said Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), adding that the shortages on store shelves in her Orange County district seemed reminiscent of hurricane season.
Much of the economic tumult stems from a pandemic that remains impossible to predict and the evolving aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The dynamic nonetheless offers fertile ground for fresh political squabbles between Democrats and Republicans, just over six months before Americans head to the polls in the 2022 midterm elections.
“My sense is this is a make or break moment,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said about the fate of the Democratic spending agenda. “This will be the moment people have to look at each other, eyeball to eyeball, and make a determination of whether we’ll move forward.”
Prices rose more than 8 percent last month driven by energy costs
Setting the stage for the week, Democrats and Republicans took to the airwaves on Sunday, squaring off on competing news shows about the extent of inflation and the role Washington should play in combating it.
Federal Reserve nominees advance after one candidate withdraws
Republicans, meanwhile, are readying their own rhetorical barrage. While they support Powell and Jefferson, and lack the power to block Brainard and Cook, the upcoming votes offer an opportunity for them to swipe again at the Biden administration for the pace at which costs are rising.
“Inflation has risen steadily since the day Biden took office, and it’s taxing working families the hardest,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a member of the Banking Committee, said in a tweet Friday. “It seems like the very people Biden administration’s policies claim to help are paying the highest price.”
Along with the Federal Reserve, Senate Democrats also are scrambling to approve a roughly $10 billion package that would replenish key coronavirus aid programs. The measure passed the House but has remained stuck in the Senate, where partisan warfare continues to cut deeply into government efforts to provide Americans access to vaccines and treatments.
The stalemate stems from a political broadside in an unrelated fight over immigration. Republican lawmakers sharply disagree with recent White House plans to lift an order that had curtailed the ability of migrants to seek asylum in the United States.
In response, Senate Republicans sought to use the coronavirus aid as leverage. They thwarted swift passage of the money to try to force Senate Democrats to hold an uncomfortable vote on an amendment targeting the White House border policies. That essentially scuttled hopes in Congress to approve the pandemic relief package in the short time before they departed on their holiday recess.