While President Biden was all too happy to settle for an infrastructure bill that sacrificed addressing bigger issues in the name of good, old-fashioned bipartisan agreement on roads and bridges, it looks like Senate Democrats are finally going to go for it with their initial offering on a reconciliation bill. Earlier this week, Democrats passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution packed with significant spending on all of the country's social infrastructure, including massive new spending to address the looming threat of climate change.
The budget — which was largely written by Sen. Bernie Sanders, according to The Washington Post — includes much of the more ambitious programs that appeared in Biden's original infrastructure bill, before it got stripped for parts by senators reaching across the aisle. It invests billions in education, expands Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, and expands social safety nets for those in need of support through new affordable housing programs and rental assistance.
