On Thursday’s NPR morning edition, Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, said the Biden administration plans to try to recoup some of the concessions it made with the debt-straightening bill in future legislation.
Host Layla Fadell said, “Many progressives, including your former boss, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), are really frustrated. He called parts of the deal “really bad”, citing concessions, climate change and working conditions for those seeking to introduce a new tax on the wealthy. What is the administration’s message to soon-to-be voters progressives like Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont)? “
Ramamurti said, “Well, as the president said, this is a compromise. And a compromise means no one can get exactly what they want. thinks there are elements we share some of these concerns with and if it had been up to us we wouldn’t have included them, but they were priorities for the Republican Party. In a divided world, agreements will have to reflect that reality.”
Fadell then asked, “Do you think these are temporary concessions, or are they something the administration will try to recoup in future legislation?”
Ramamurti replied: Of course, at least the door will be opened, or the possibility of future change will be left open. For example, some cuts in funding to the IRS (which we didn’t necessarily agree with), but that certainly doesn’t rule out the possibility of adding more funding to the department in the future. “
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