'Everybody is frustrated,' Biden says as his agenda stalls
President Joe Biden on Saturday acknowledged frustrations as Democrats strain to rescue a scaled-back version of his $3.5 trillion government-overhaul plan and salvage a related public works bill after frantic negotiations failed to produce a deal.
"Everybody's frustrated, it's part of being in government, being frustrated," Biden told reporters before leaving the White House for a weekend stay at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. He pledged to "work like hell" to get the two pillars of his domestic agenda passed into law, but refrained from laying out a new deadline. The president had gone to Capitol Hill on Friday for a private meeting with House Democrats that was partly a morale booster for the disjointed caucus of lawmakers. According to lawmakers in the room, he discussed a $1.9 trillion to $2 trillion-plus price tag for the larger package that would expand the country's social safety net.
The White House and its allies in Congress are prepared for protracted negotiations. Biden said he would soon travel around the country to promote the legislation and he acknowledged concerns that the talk in Washington had become too focused on the trillions in new spending and taxes in the bill. He pledged to do more to educate the public about the plan's new and expanded programs, which he contended have the support of the vast majority of the electorate.
"I'm going to try to sell what I think the American people will buy," Biden said Saturday, adding, "I believe that when the American people are aware of what's in it we'll get it done." The president said he believed the legislation will be signed into law with "plenty of time to change the tax code for people next year.
