随着本周关于乔·拜登总统经济议程的谈判达到关键时刻，弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员乔·曼钦周一表示，他乐观地认为，民主党人可能会在拜登周四离开之前就社会支出一揽子计划达成框架协议。

曼钦说:“完成所有的“我”和“我”以及所有的事情，从参议院的角度来看，这将是困难的，因为我们有大量的文本要通过。“但就概念而言，我们应该这样做。我真的相信。我觉得框架应该是，真的应该是。”

曼钦与亚利桑那州参议员基斯顿·西内马(Kyrsten Sinema)一道，对拜登最初提出的3.5万亿美元社会支出提议提出了反对意见。周日下午，曼钦与总统和参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)共进早餐。

“进展顺利，”拜登周一表示。"没有更多的事情需要解决，但进展顺利。"

对拜登的议程来说，这是关键的一周，政府正在加大对国会民主党人的压力，要求他们在拜登离开美国之前达成协议。

拜登周一对记者表示，“在上帝的恩典和邻居的善意下”，他希望在周三之前就社会支出框架达成协议。

民主党领导层乐观地认为，如果能够达成协议，这将足以释放众议院对一项单独的1万亿美元两党基础设施法案的进步支持，拜登希望在离任前看到该法案获得通过。

参议院已经通过了1万亿美元的法案，其中包括为道路、桥梁、水路、农村宽带和其他传统基础设施项目提供资金。

但是众议院的进步人士希望得到保证，拜登的社会支出计划将在他们支持两党法案之前获得通过。

乔纳森·恩斯特/路透社

美国总统乔·拜登在24日发表了关于重建更好的基础设施的讲话.

在美国有线电视新闻网上，佩洛西预计这笔交易有90%在那里。一名民主党高级助手告诉美国广播公司新闻，佩洛西希望两党在周中之前达成协议，但所有这些都取决于参议院民主党人是否先就社会支出达成协议。

舒默周一表示，仍有“三四个”悬而未决的问题需要解决。

民主党人一直在努力为该方案争取一个令人满意的价格标签，但截至周一，他们尚未就成本达成一致。拜登雄心勃勃的10年3.5万亿美元的预算已经被削减到2万亿美元左右，曼钦周一表示，他仍然支持1.5万亿美元的价格。目前还不清楚他是否会提高上限。

为了降低费用，已经进行了大幅度的削减。民主党人放弃了两年的免费社区大学，并将每月300美元的儿童税收抵免延长至一年。带薪探亲假的时间预计也将从12周减少到4周。

曼钦还破坏了拜登气候提案的基石政策，阻止了一项激励公用事业公司转向清洁能源的计划，同时惩罚了那些不这样做的公司。就在拜登为苏格兰气候峰会做准备之际，民主党人正在寻求替代解决方案，包括清洁能源税收优惠。

在西内马反对对富人和企业增税后，民主党人在如何为他们的一揽子计划提供资金方面一直存在分歧，他们承诺将支付这笔费用。

预计民主党将在本周晚些时候公布一项针对亿万富翁的税收提案，该提案将只对最富有的美国人征税。他们还表示，他们希望对海外收入征税，并加强国税局的执法力度。

此外，如何处理扩大医疗保险和医疗补助的提议也仍在讨论中。进步人士希望看到牙科、视力和听力的保险，但曼钦对费用表示担忧。

如果民主党人能够为这些悬而未决的问题制定一个解决方案，他们将为拜登带来急需的胜利，因为共和党人仍然团结一致反对他的议程。

周一，拜登重申了他的紧急呼吁。

拜登说:“美国人民从来没有让他们的国家失望过。“所以让我们把这件事做好。我们走吧。”

Biden's agenda faces critical week as Democrats look for social spending deal

As talks on President Joe Biden's economic agenda hit a critical point this week, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Monday that he's optimistic Democrats could reach a framework agreement on a social spending package before Biden jets off on Thursday.

"Having it finished with all the t's and i's and everything crossed and dotted, that will be difficult from the Senate side because we have an awful lot of text to go through," Manchin said. "But as far as conceptually we should. I really believe that. I think a framework should be, it really should be."

Manchin, who, along with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has raised objections to Biden's original $3.5 trillion social spending proposal, met with the president and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer over breakfast Sunday afternoon.

"It went well,” Biden said Monday. “Few more things to work out but it went well.”

It is a critical week for Biden's agenda, and the administration is ratcheting up pressure on congressional Democrats to come to an agreement before Biden leaves the country.

Biden told reporters Monday that "with the grace of God and the goodwill of neighbors," he hopes there will be a deal on the social spending framework by Wednesday.

Democratic leadership is optimistic that, if a deal can be reached, it will be enough to unlock House progressive support for a separate $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that Biden wants to see passed before his departure.

The Senate has already passed the $1 trillion bill which includes funding roads, bridges, waterways, rural broadband and other traditional infrastructure items.

But progressives in the House want assurances that Biden's social spending package will pass before they lend their support to the bipartisan bill.

On CNN, Pelosi projected that the deal is 90% there. A senior Democratic aide told ABC News that Pelosi hopes to have the bipartisan deal on the floor by mid-week, but all of that is contingent upon Senate Democrats striking a deal on social spending first.

Schumer said Monday there remains "three or four" outstanding issues to work through.

Democrats have struggled mightily to rally around an agreeable price tag for the package but, as of Monday, they've yet to settle on the cost. Biden's ambitious $3.5 trillion budget over 10 years has already been slashed to around $2 trillion, and Manchin on Monday said he still supports, as he long has, a $1.5 trillion price tag. It's unclear if he'd raise his limit.

To bring down the cost of the bill, there have been significant cuts. Democrats abandoned two years of free community college and shortened an extension of the monthly $300 child tax credit to just one year. The amount of paid family leave is also expected to be reduced from 12 weeks to four.

Manchin has also thrown a wrench in the cornerstone policy of Biden's climate proposal, blocking a program that would incentivize utilities to switch to clean energy while penalizing those that don't. Democrats are seeking alternative solutions, including clean energy tax incentives, just as Biden prepares for a climate summit in Scotland.

And Democrats have been at odds over how to fund their package, which they've promised would be paid for, after Sinema objected to tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations.

Democrats are expected to unveil a proposed tax on billionaires later this week, which would tax only the wealthiest Americans. They also say they want to tax overseas earnings and increase IRS enforcement.

Also still being hashed out is how to deal with proposed expansions to Medicare and Medicaid. Progressives want to see coverage for dental, vision and hearing, but Manchin has expressed concerns about the cost.

If Democrats can fashion a solution for these outstanding problems, they stand to deliver Biden a much-needed win as Republicans remain unified against his agenda.

On Monday, Biden renewed his call for urgency.

"The American people have never, ever, ever let their country down," Biden said. "So let's get this done. Let's move."