Indian-American leader of the progressive faction of the Democratic Party, Pramila Jayapal, has emerged as a powerful force in US politics after holding President Joe Biden’s signature multi-trillion-dollar programs hostage.
In Congress, where the Democratic Party has a slim majority, Jayapal shot down a plan crafted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get moderates’ support by sequentially getting voted in the House of Representatives on Biden’s $1 trillion plan for America’s infrastructure and over $2 trillion for wide-ranging social and climate change programmes.
The Senate, in August, had passed the $1 trillion infrastructure program ‘American Jobs Plan (AJP)’ which had the support of Democrats and some Republicans but hasn’t taken up the $2 trillion social program ‘American Family Plan’ (AFP) due to the disagreements between opposition and the moderates over its cost and the range of programs from free community college education to care for children and seniors.
The AFP would increase taxes on the rich whose earning is over $400,000 per year.
The leftist Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) that Jayapal heads has refused to back the AJP in the House unless it first passes the AFP as Jayapal and other Caucus leaders fear that the moderates would not back it.
CPC has a group of 95 within the 220 Democratic Party in the House of Representatives. The party holds a slim edge of only eight seats over the Republicans in the House of Representatives that gives her a potential veto. Additionally, CPC has one senator.
Biden was expected to support Pelosi, but he came to Congress last week and agreed with Jayapal for sending the legislations to a limbo where party leaders are now trying to work out a compromise.
The imbroglio emerges because of the factionalism in the Democratic Party and the deep suspicions that the left and the moderates have for each other.
Passing AJP is less controversial and has wide voter support among the voters of both parties because it deals with matters like roads, bridges. Public transportation, electric vehicles and internet broadband. However, they can’t do it unless Jayapal and the CPC give the nod.
