Hey Indivisibles,

It’s been a busy week in the Senate (and it is only Thursday) and we just wanted to touch base with you and let you know where things stand.

If you’ve been following along with our emails, you’ll know that Progressives are leveraging their power to ensure a bold recovery for all people. On Tuesday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, repeated again that she and her progressive colleagues in Congress won't back the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (“BIF”) until Congress passes the budget reconciliation bill, which prioritizes all the progressive issues we care about most (click here to learn more about it).

Wait... what’s reconciliation again?

Reconciliation is a budget process. Normally, the Senate requires a 60-vote majority to pass any legislation because we still haven’t eliminated the filibuster. Budget Reconciliation, often referred to as just reconciliation, is a legislative maneuver that allows the majority to get around this 60-vote threshold. Reconciliation lets the Senate majority bypass the filibuster process, allowing them to pass legislation with 51 votes, instead of the normal 60. Bills passed through reconciliation also aren’t subject to the filibusters. For a refresher Recovery and how the budget process relates to it check out this resource.

What is taking so long to pass reconciliation?

Democratic leadership and the Congressional Progressive Caucus have developed a two-track strategy that moves the inclusive reconciliation bill and BIF -- the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (which only funds roads and bridges) -- at the same time. 

Unfortunately, some conservative Democrats didn’t like that. They demanded the watered-down BIF get a vote first. Nancy Pelosi struck a compromise, promising a vote on BIF on September 27th. 

Don’t forget -- the ten conservative Democrats who wanted to water down the recovery bill forced this deadline. They’re trying to stop incredibly popular, long time democratic priorities like lowering drug prices, strengthening Medicare, universal child care, and climate action in order to placate their donors. The CPC is prepared to fight (and can win!), but we need to put pressure on the members who are obstructing Biden’s Recovery Agenda and cheerlead out champions. Click here to call your Member of Congress today and demand they move the reconciliation package forward. 

What can I do to help the fight? 

The same thing you have been doing! Progressives in Congress need our help. We need to make sure they know we have their backs, and we need to grow their strength by encouraging more Members of Congress to join them in supporting a two-track strategy to deliver the full Build Back Better Agenda. 

With the House reconciliation text out of committee, we also need to let the Senate know what our progressive priorities are and tell them to fight to keep them in the bill. Click here to call your member of Congress and demand they pass the reconciliation bill.

With so much happening in Congress right now, it is crucial that we have all hands on deck. Congress must deliver on Biden’s recovery agenda. This is a crucial, must-pass bill that will help pretty much everybody in the entire country. We have to do everything we can to get it passed.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team

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