Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Says Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Reconciliation Budget Is Too Big, AOC Hits Back

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona), a moderate Democrat, announced that she would vote to advance Democrats’  $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget that promotes President Joe Biden‘s agenda but wants to see a far lower price tag for it.

“I have also made clear that while I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion — and in the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona’s everyday families get ahead,” Sinema said in a statement.

Sinema emphasized the bipartisan agreement infrastructure deal that is now working its way through the Senate should be the template for future Senate action. The bipartisan deal will address traditional infrastructure, while the Democrats’ reconciliation budget will deal with climate change, immigration, health care and child and eldercare.

“We are proud to announce we have reached a bipartisan agreement on our proposal to make the strongest investment in America’s critical infrastructure in a generation,” Sinema said. “Our plan will create good-paying jobs in communities across our country without raising taxes. Reaching this agreement was no easy task – but our constituents expect us to put in the hard work and show that two parties can still work together to address the needs of the American people.” 

“We appreciate our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and the administration, working with us to get this done and we look forward to earning broad, bipartisan support among our Senate colleagues for this historic legislation,” she added.

Sinema’s statement faced a backlash immediately from the progressive Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), one of the leading progressives in the House.

“Good luck tanking your own party’s investment on childcare, climate action, and infrastructure while presuming you’ll survive a 3 vote House margin – especially after choosing to exclude members of color from negotiations and calling that a “bipartisan accomplishment,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

Good luck tanking your own party’s investment on childcare, climate action, and infrastructure while presuming you’ll survive a 3 vote House margin – especially after choosing to exclude members of color from negotiations and calling that a “bipartisan accomplishment.” 👍🏽👍🏽 https://t.co/0VF8Z73vAa

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 28, 2021