House Democrats on Friday morning were planning to vote on a roughly $2 trillion social-spending and climate bill after a late-night speech by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy prompted a delay.
Backed by President Joe Biden, the sprawling package would create universal preschool, extend more-expansive Affordable Care Act subsidies, fund clean-energy programs and provide tax credits for electric vehicles of as much as $12,500. A centerpiece of Biden’s agenda, it would be paid for through tax increases on corporations and wealthy Americans.
Passage by the House of Representatives is expected after 8 a.m. Eastern, following McCarthy’s record-breaking, all-night broadside against the bill and Biden’s plans. The California Republican yielded the House floor shortly after 5 a.m., after giving the longest House speech in modern history: eight hours and 32 minutes.
If approved by the House, the legislation will face major changes in the Senate. Some portions of the bill — such as paid leave and immigration policy — are expected to undergo removal or changes in the upper chamber, where Democrats have no votes to spare. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, has raised concerns about the paid leave program, as well as the cost of the overall package. In the 50-50 Senate, the bill will need the backing of every Democrat to pass, since none of the Republicans support it.
U.S. stock futures
YM00,
were mostly lower on Friday morning.
Read: Wall Street poised for mixed start as investors fret over Europe’s COVID cases
This post was originally published on Market Watch
