1.75 trillion bill

Pushback from moderates over the size of the package has meant tough decisions about what to cut and what to keep. Progressives argued for preserving as many of the proposal’s policies as possible, while saving money by having them expire sooner than initially planned. Some moderates, meanwhile, advocated for the opposite: funding fewer programs for more time. The strategy is to start a give away program, keep it going for three to five years and then ask the politicians not to renew the program. This is the way Obamacare stayed under a trillion dollars in the first ten years. The benefits were only paid six of the first ten years. President Joe Biden backed the former strategy as well, and that appears to be the course Democrats will pursue. Biden and the progressives hope the policies will be so popular — even if they’re only implemented for a short period — that it will be difficult for future lawmakers to let them lapse, regardless of who controls Congress.