Senators sound off on Biden’s social spending proposals

Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Lindsey Graham took to the talk shows on Sunday to spin their parties’ opposing points of view on President Biden’s sweeping social and environmental spending plans.

Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, insisted the Senate can still pass the roughly $2 trillion “Build Back Better” plan by Christmas, just two weeks away.

The bill only passed the House of Representatives by a narrow margin, and key Democratic moderates are yet to board the party bandwagon.

One of those moderates, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, is “still at the negotiating table,” Klobuchar said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“I am all in on getting it done by Christmas and we’ll do everything to get it done,” she said.

“Joe Manchin … gets our country. He gets the plight of so many people in West Virginia,” she added.

Last week, President Biden voiced uncertainty over whether Manchin would eventually be won over. The two are expected to meet this week, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, trashed the steep costs of the legislation. Its price tag has already been trimmed to accommodate objections from centrist members of the House.

“The last thing I’m going to do is add more burdens to working families in South Carolina,” Graham told “Fox News Sunday.” “And here’s my message to the Democratic Party: Quit lying about this bill. They should revote it in the House.”

The “Build Back Better” package includes billions of dollars for universal preschool, expanding health care access, clean-energy incentives and more.

Along with the roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law last week, it makes up the heart of Biden’s domestic agenda.

The bill would mostly be paid for by tax increases on the rich, big corporations and companies that do business overseas.

The Senate is set to bring the legislation to the floor by Christmas, Senate Majority Leader and New York Democrat Chuck Schumer said last week.

But many observers are skeptical that lawmakers can finalize the legislation by Dec. 25.

(DAILY NEWS)