Nancy Pelosi says no deadline on passage of Build Back Better bill

Democrats are turning their attention to other urgent pieces of legislation to pass through Congress, including the stalled Build Back Better proposal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she does not “subscribe” to a set deadline, sidestepping the deadline that Progressive Democrats hope to meet.

Speaking at an infrastructure event in San Francisco, Pelosi said that the March 1 deadline by Progressive Democrats for the Build Back Better Act is “an aspiration,” but also noted that the House has other pieces of legislation that it needs to bring up and vote on, such as the CHIPS act and the omnibus bill.

“We will pass the bill when we have the votes to pass the bill, and we cannot stop pressing for that,” said Pelosi, who noted that passing Build Back Better is important.

“I hope they’re right. I don’t subscribe to any particular date,” added the House Speaker regarding the March 1 deadline. The White House also had a similar answer as Pelosi. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that no deadline has been set yet, sidestepping the March 1 date.

Pelosi’s remarks appear to indicate that Democrats still do not have the votes needed to pass the social and climate infrastructure bill, which makes up the bulk of US President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda. The bill has previously passed the House among party lines but has since stalled in the Senate as West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he could not support the bill, drawing backlash.

Since that time, Biden has acknowledged that not everything that Democrats want will be able to make it to the bill and that the legislation would likely be broken up into parts. Nevertheless, Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Rep. Pramila Japayal has urged the Senate and the White House not to let the bill remain stalled for too long.

In other related news, Pelosi spoke with Taiwanese vice president Lai Ching-te and Taiwan’s ambassador to the US Hsiao Bi-Khim in a virtual conference. Pelosi and Lai discussed security issues, the economy, and the shared values of both nations. The House Speaker raised concerns about the situation at the Taiwan Strait, and the human rights abuses in China, according to Hsiao.