AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
- Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal cut out a number of care-economy measures from his initial plan.
- AOC said progressive will "tank" the deal if a reconciliation bill isn't passed at the same time.
- The reconciliation bill would include more care-economy measures and climate change initiatives.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
After President Joe Biden reached an agreement with a bipartisan group of senators on an infrastructure plan, many Democrats criticized how the deal cut out many care-economy measures, like eldercare and affordable housing.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York doubled down on those criticisms on Thursday, promising that progressives will "tank" the deal unless a separate bill, full of care-economy measures, makes the cut, too.
Senate Democrats announced on Tuesday they had reached such a deal which they hope to pass in tandem with the infrastructure package through a political process known as reconciliation, which just requires a simple majority vote.
"House progressive are standing up…" Ocasio-Cortez said during a town hall. "We will tank the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless we also pass the reconciliation bill."
-The Recount (@therecount) July 16, 2021
On June 24, Biden announced he had reached an agreement on an infrastructure plan with the bipartisan group of senators after weeks of negotiations, ending up with a plan that was just under $1 trillion – cutting over a half of the president's original price tag. This led many Democrats, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, to say that in order to win their support for the bipartisan deal, a reconciliation bill must be passed alongside it to get needed care-economy measures to the American people.
"There ain't going to be an infrastructure bill unless we have the reconciliation bill passed by the United States Senate," Pelosi told reporters at the time.
Biden even said during a press conference after announced the agreement that the infrastructure deal and a reconciliation bill would work "in tandem," but he later walked back those comments following fierce opposition from Republican lawmakers.
But progressive lawmakers are still pushing for a reconciliation bill that they believe is urgent to meet the needs of the country, including addressing the climate crisis, and their promise to shut down the bipartisan deal if the reconciliation bill isn't passed at the same time imposes difficulties for the deal's future.
"If [Senate Dems] try to strip immigration reform, if they try to claw back on child care, climate action, etc., then we're at an impasse," Ocasio-Cortez said. "It's a no-go."