Biden can fight climate change, guarantee housing, and halve poverty -- without the GOP

[DonViejo]

Biden’s majority is fragile. But it could also be incredibly powerful.

By Dylan [e-mail] Jan 13, 2021, 8:00am EST

Despite Joe Biden’s defeat of Donald Trump, the November election was a bit of a letdown for Democrats. The party lost House seats, and Senate Republicans did better than expected, dashing progressives’ dreams of a transformational Biden administration.

Then January 5 happened. Democrats Jon Ossoff’s and Raphael Warnock’s victories in the Georgia runoff elections mean that the Democratic policy wish list has been disinterred — even if the reality of a 50-50 Senate and slimmer Democratic margin in the House may force the party and the president-elect to temper their ambitions.

That gives Biden two years to move — two years with a 50-50 Senate when he’ll be constrained by what moderates like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) are willing to vote for.

Still, Biden and his allies in Congress can accomplish an awful lot through a process called budget reconciliation. The Senate filibuster means that a bill typically requires 60 votes to move forward. With only 50 Democratic senators (plus tie-breaker Vice President-elect Kamala Harris), that’s a nearly insurmountable barrier. But the budget reconciliation process exempts certain legislation that primarily affects taxes and spending from the filibuster, meaning the 50 Senate Democrats can pass it on their own.

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https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22217054/joe-biden-senate-majority-budget-reconciliation