(MENAFN- EIN Presswire)
Robert Weiner
August Clarke
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, January 25, 2022 /EINPresswire.com / --“Get it done! Go for individual victories on child credit, drugs, climate, home care, pre-K, college and more,” former Clinton and Bush White House spokesman and senior congressional spokesman for the
government Operations and Judiciary committees, Robert Weiner, and senior policy analyst August Clarke, wrote in a piece for OpEdNews ranked H1 as the #1 op-ed in the nation The piece was also featured by the PuLSE Institute.
Today they added,“Because of parliamentary reasons, it might have to be one bill since the only way it gets through the Senate is through reconciliation. If it's one bill, it should have clear subdivisions in the bill so that it has specifics and lawmakers like Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema are able to amend to amend it, will be invested in it, and will support a final vote. The House may be able to simply stand on its approval of the earlier bill and take the Senate bill as a substitute. There is absolutely nothing wrong with putting subdivisions in a major bill that make it clear that those sections can be treated separately before it goes to a final vote.”
Weiner and Clarke begin the op-ed,“President Biden's one-year news conference Wednesday opened with the President talking about his 'challenges.' Obstructionists like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) have stalled Build Back Better's progress. Weiner and Clarke, propose that now is the time for 'Democrats to act quickly and adopt a new strategy.'
They continue, 'Get a victory -- on child tax credits to keep cutting child poverty by half. Get a victory on prescription price negotiating so insulin costs $35 not $1000. Get a victory on universal pre-K so children grow up adjusted and parents go back to paying taxes sooner. Get a victory on climate change so coal workers have green jobs and give states like West Virginia a few billion dollars just as we paid farmers in past years not to grow sugar or tobacco -- it's not a unique compromise approach to get votes. Get a victory supporting home health care so seniors are not dumped into nursing homes and our grandmothers with their glazed bored eyes do not cry and ask you, 'How do you expect me to act in a place like this?' Get a victory on college grants so we can compete with China.”
They argue, 'that this will enhance the 'anticipated Democratic performance in the 2022 midterms' which is 'worrying, with NBC News predicting it will be a 'shellacking' paralleling what Obama called the 2010 midterms.”
They contend,“given the popularity of these issues, congressional Democrats could avoid the vast deficits this midterm is likely to create by getting Build Back Better done, even if it isn't passed in one grand sweep.”
They write, 'If congressional Democrats re-approach their strategy and pass each policy piecemeal then they can work with the party's current dynamics, not against it.'
They go on,“Democratic moderates up for reelection in November 2022 - especially from swing districts - could use the legislative track record and the momentum of to mobilize their district's base. At the same time, progressives can finally turn out policies they've wanted all along. Not to mention, this approach allows for the building of bi-partisan support, as each individual issue is now open for amending, unlike if it were stuck in its current unchangeable one-and-done style law. This may be politically advantageous for a President who has emphasized his role to 'heal the soul of the nation.'”
They assert,“Democrats have no time to waste. Build Back Better needs to be re-approached in order to be revived. If the issues were passed piecemeal, it would help their prospects in the upcoming midterms by having something to show. It would help Republicans too who support the legislation. Congress must accept the current dynamic and work with it, however frustrating or strenuous that may be.”
Weiner and Clarke conclude,“Get It done! Go for Individual victories on child credit, drugs, climate, home care, pre-k, and college. Build Back Better can happen that way, too.”
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Robert Weiner and Ben Lasky
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