This archive report was first published on 28 October 2021.
Published on October 28, 2021, Democrats are working to unite behind President Biden's ambitious agenda, which includes a range of provisions aimed at addressing key issues such as climate change, healthcare, and education.
At the heart of the effort is a measure that would extend monthly tax credit payments to families with children, create a federally guaranteed prekindergarten program, and expand financial assistance for child care, home health care, and worker training and housing.
However, several provisions remain in flux, including a push to expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing benefits, a priority for Senator Bernie Sanders and other liberals.
As it stands, passage of the bill could technically achieve President Biden's ambitious promise to lower U.S. emissions, although many potential obstacles would remain, according to an analysis by Rhodium Group.
Lawmakers have also scaled back their ambitions for providing health coverage for poor adults whose states chose not to expand Medicaid, and are considering a more temporary fix. The package may include three years of funding for poor residents of those states to get federal assistance buying health plans under the Affordable Care Act.
The plans would be effectively free, and would come with subsidies to lower deductibles and other forms of cost sharing. An estimated 2.1 million poor Americans are uninsured in those states, mostly in the South.
