WASHINGTON: Lawmakers were set to vote Friday on giant twin bills at the center of Joe Biden's $3 trillion blueprint to fix America's crumbling transport network, expand its social safety net and tackle the climate crisis, on the biggest day so far of his presidency.
Success on both fronts would be a huge boon to Biden, 10 months after he swept to the White House promising the pandemic-devastated nation he would "build back better" - before seeing his popularity plunge.
The House of Representatives was expected to pass the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package for Biden to sign into law after taking a vote to advance an even bigger social welfare bill, worth up to $1.85 trillion, to the Senate.
"I'm asking every House member... to vote yes on both these bills right now. Send the infrastructure bill to my desk, send the Build Back Better bill to the Senate," Biden said in a televised address from the White House.
"Let's build on incredible economic progress, build on what we've already done, because this will be such a boost when it occurs. Let's show the world that America's democracy can deliver and propel our country forward."
Biden's low approval ratings were blamed in part for a humiliating upset defeat this week in Virginia's gubernatorial election.
The infrastructure deal's final approval would mark an unambiguous, resounding and immediate victory for the 78-year old former senator, who touts his ability to reach across the aisle.
By funding work on roads, bridges and ports and high-speed internet, the White House says it would create millions of high-paying jobs for people without college degrees.
"America is at a crossroads and it is essential that we take action to enact both of these bills and set our country on a path to continued, equitable recovery," House Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement.
But the social spending bill - named Build Back Better - was still facing headwinds mid-morning, with up to five lawmakers seeking a full accounting of its economic impacts that won't be available for days.
It also does not have the Senate's blessing and is likely to be downsized significantly and put through further arduous votes by moderates in the upper chamber who continue to stiff-arm a deal.
"It will not be enacted as is. Everybody needs to sit with that and get comfortable with it," Montana's Democratic senator Jon Tester told Politico.
The votes cap months of tense negotiations on Capitol Hill since the Senate approved the infrastructure package in August, giving it rare bipartisan support in Washington's highly-polarized political atmosphere.
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