Schumer aims to pass Biden infrastructure, Build Back Better plans in

Democrats have a new deadline to enact President Joe Biden‘s economic agenda.

The party will try to pass both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a broader investment in social programs by the end of October, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told his caucus in a letter Monday. The party aims to approve the plans before the Oct. 31 expiration of major transportation funding programs, which the infrastructure legislation would renew.

To pass what they bill as a transformative investment in the social safety net and climate policy, Democrats will have to satisfy progressives who thought an initial $3.5 trillion price tag was too small and at least one centrist who wants to spend no more than $1.5 trillion. Negotiations around the plan, which kicked into high gear last week, would have to yield a breakthrough in the coming days for Congress to write and pass a bill in time.

“Not every member will get everything he or she wanted,” Schumer wrote to Senate Democrats. “But at the end of the day, we will pass legislation that will dramatically improve the lives of the American people. I believe we are going to do just that in the month of October.”

The Senate leader said he wanted to reach a final deal “within a matter of days, not weeks.”

Schumer set out the new timeline after House Democrats delayed a planned Thursday vote on the Senate-passed infrastructure bill. Progressives, seeking assurances Democrats will pass their larger social spending and climate proposal, withheld support for the bipartisan plan.

Biden, Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., all appear to have acknowledged neither bill will pass without the other. They have also stressed that both wings of their party will have to yield ground to find a sweet spot between $1.5 trillion and $3.5 trillion.

“We’re in the process of continuing to talk to all the parties. We’ll see what we get,” Biden said Monday when asked if he would accept a $2 trillion bill.

Talks in the coming days will shape whether millions of Americans receive a dramatic boost in benefits in the coming years. The negotiations will also determine how big of a role the federal government will take in curbing the threat of climate change.

Democrats’ proposal could expand paid leave, make child care more affordable, extend a more generous child tax credit, create universal pre-K and make two years of community college free. It could lower the Medicare eligibility age and include dental, vision and hearing benefits in coverage.

It could also use tax credits and other incentives to encourage the adoption of green energy and the construction of infrastructure more resilient against severe weather. Democrats aim to offset the spending with tax increases on…