White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that it is 'deeply disappointing' the Senate parliamentarian ruled that...
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that it is 'deeply disappointing' the Senate parliamentarian ruled that Democrats could not include a path to citizenship in their Build Back Better plan.
She said that Biden and Democrat leaders on the hill 'vehemently disagree' with the decision.
Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough told Senators that a path to citizenship does not meet the standards of what can be included in budget legislation. The Build Back Better plan must qualify as a budget measure in order to pass by the reconciliation process, or a simple majority vote.
'The decision by the parliamentarian is deeply disappointing and relegates millions to an uncertain and frightening future,' Psaki told reporters.
MacDonough has previously rejected two other plans for immigration reform and this third plan would have provided temporary parole status for 6.5 million foreign nationals, which would allow them to work and travel for five years.
Psaki said that Biden and Democrat leaders on the hill 'vehemently disagree' with the decision of the parliamentarian on immigration reform in the Build Back Better bill
Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough told Senators that a path to citizenship does not meet the standards of what can be included in budget legislation
The ruling is not binding and some Democrats have called to ignore the parliamentarian. Psaki would not say that lawmakers should bypass MacDonough's decision, but she did say it is time for Congress to act.
'We would encourage and support any effort that they make to look at any ways to move immigration forward, but I'm not suggesting we're advocating for a change in the Senate parliamentarian rules at this point in time, I'm just suggesting we support their efforts to get immigration reform done,' she said.
MacDonough said in her ruling that the new immigration provisions benefitted largely the same population as the last two plans she had rejected.
Among her concerns were that the plan would allow some immigrants to become eligible for green cards, and that the government would have no way to turn immigrants down if they met eligibility, according to a copy of the ruling obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
According to the Senate's Byrd Rule, reconciliation bills cannot include 'extraneous matter' that is 'merely incidental to the nonbudgetary components of the provision.'
The Build Back Better bill, a sweeping, nearly $2 trillion social and climate spending bill, has been tabled for 2021 after key centrist Sen. Joe Manchin refused to acquiesce to Democrats' timeline after he repeatedly called for a pause in new spending.
The White House insists the legislation is not dead, however.
Psaki said Friday that Biden wants to see the legislation passed 'as soon as Congress returns' after the new year.
The bill hit another road block over Manchin's hesitation with the child tax credit plan, according to reports.
Migrants, part of a caravan that is slowly moving north, stop and rest at the Casa del Peregrino San Juan Diego shelter in Mexico City, Monday, Dec. 13
Asylum seekers and refugees camp out El Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on Dec. 6, the day the US reinstated Remain in Mexico
Manchin, speaking to reporters this week, denied reports that child tax credit was the issue and said reporters are hearing 'a lot of bad rumors.'
'I'm not opposed to child tax credit, I've never been opposed to child tax credit,' he insisted.
Under the Build Back Better bill, the fully refundable child tax credit would go from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child over the age of six and $2,000 to $3,600 for children under six. The bill also raises the age limit from 16 to 17, so all minors were included.
All working families were doled out the money if they made up to $150,000 per couple or $112,500 for a family with a single parent.
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