Democrats are trying to move a trimmed down social spending bill through the budget reconciliation process -- which only needs 50 votes in the Senate by circumventing the 60-vote filibuster, meaning it can pass without Republican backing.
The bill includes prescription drug reform, major spending on climate matters, extends Affordable Care Act benefits, and increases taxes, including on large corporations. The legislation follows over a year of Democratic negotiations on passing a bill using a process called budget reconciliation to get around the Senate filibuster.
The bill has been championed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Manchin torpedoed last year's nearly $3 trillion "Build Back Better" proposals. The lawmakers have named the new legislation the "Inflation Reduction Act" and have argued it would spend $433 billion, yet raise $739 billion in tax revenue.
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Yet using the reconciliation process means that the bill is open for a potentially infinite number of amendments, and Republicans wish to take advantage.
With a raging border disaster that has not let up since it started last March, Republicans used a vote-a-rama in August to tee up a series of tough votes for moderate Democrats on immigration, including funding for border security and interior immigration enforcement. Some of those measures received Democratic backing.
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A GOP Senate aide explained to Fox News Digital on Thursday that "multiple" amendments on matters related to the border and immigration are being teed up by different offices.
In the meantime, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., explained to reporters that he plans to introduce an amendment related to Title 42 -- the public health order that has been used to expel a majority of migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. The Biden administration has been seeking to end the order, yet has thus far been blocked from doing so by a federal court. Republicans, and some Democrats, have called on the Biden administration to extend or even enshrine the order.
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The votes could put moderate Democrats -- some who have expressed backing for Title 42 and additional funding for border security measures -- in a situation where they break with others in their party and vote for the Republican-backed amendments. If that is the case, then there’s a risk that other Democrats may balk at the additions, killing the legislation altogether.
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