The White House and Democratic leaders are navigating old (debt,immigration, flooding) and new (French anger at sub sale, COVID) issues in trying to pass two mammoth bills.
Speaker Pelosi’s goal is to get moderates and progressives in both the House and Senate to publicly agree on the outlines of that framework by Monday. That way, the House can try to move toward a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill with unified Democratic support next week.
The biggest point of contention is the topline number. But progressives will also want guarantees on certain programs -- such as the Medicare prescription drug reform and Medicaid expansion -- while moderates will seek deals over tax provisions. With the reconciliation legislation being so broad, there are an enormous number of issues being juggled simultaneously, which is one of the big problems for Democrats -- the sheer complexity of what they’re dealing with.
September 30th is the end of the fiscal year and the deadline for must pass legislation - like funding the government - that is used as leverage by both sides.