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Tim Kaine said Democrats could include provisions for immigration reform to pay for infrastructure. “This could be a very legitimate way to look at trying to find a balanced deal,” he said. However, some immigration provisions may encounter problems under the strict rules governing reconciliation. See more stories on the Insider Business page.
Democrats are considering immigration reform in a major infrastructure package using Reconciliation this summer, a move that could significantly expand only the Democrats’ package.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said Democrats are interested in fully financing Biden’s $4 trillion infrastructure plans rather than deficit spending, which means the cost of the plan is added to the national debt.
“Anytime there’s been a scrutiny of CBOs on immigration reform, it produces a significant increase in GDP without costing a lot of money,” he told Insider, referring to budget analyzes by the Congressional Budget Office.
He added, “So this may not be a traditional push but if we feel there is something we can do within the medium of reconciliation that can produce significant economic growth… it may be a very legitimate way to look at trying to find a balanced package.”
Reconciliation is a legislative tactic that requires only a simple majority of bills related to government spending. It’s the same method Democrats used to get around the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill in March.
Earlier this year, Democratic members of the House of Representatives passed two measures to create a legal pathway to citizenship for farm workers and young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children. Neither of them has declared the Democratic-controlled Senate, because it does not have the 10 Republican votes needed to cross the 60-vote threshold.
House Democrats, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, support a partisan approach to immigration reform, Roll Cole reports.
Keane told reporters that “big picture” ideas for immigration were discussed among Democratic senators who attended a major infrastructure strategy meeting late Wednesday.
Experts say some immigration provisions may have problems with the main reconciliation provision because not all of them will be directly linked to the federal budget — a rule of thumb in the process.
“Immigration reform, like the 2013 Gang of Eight bill for example, definitely has a CBO score,” Zach Mueller, a budget expert at the liberal-leaning organization Third Way, told Insider. “But not all provisions will have a degree in budget, and those with savings or costs may run into problems if a parliamentarian judges the effects are ‘merely accidental’ to the underlying policy.”
Mueller noted a 2013 immigration reform plan that the Central Office of Oman had predicted would have saved $175 billion over a decade. Those negotiations eventually collapsed due to conservative attacks.
For now, Democrats are taking a two-pronged approach to infrastructure debates. They are still negotiating with Republicans on a meager bill while paving the way for approval of a massive package without GOP support in several months.
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