Build Back ... Later?

Plus: The House holds Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress [View this email online]( [NPR Politics]( Dec. 18, 2021 This week, we looked at the [stalled effort to pass the signature bill of the Biden agenda]( [text messages received by Mark Meadows on Jan. 6]( and [candidates impacted by gun violence](. Plus, [an anti-red tape order](. --------------------------------------------------------------- The Big Picture: J. Scott Applewhite/AP It’s still not happening. President Biden [conceded Thursday]( that his signature Build Back Better [social safety net and climate legislation]( will likely have to wait until next year. Senate Democratic leaders had hoped it would pass the chamber by Christmas. "It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote,” the president said in a statement. “We will advance this work together over the days and weeks ahead.” The holdout continues to be West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who’s raised concerns about new spending during a time of high inflation, and about the cost of extending an expanded child tax credit that gave parents hundreds of dollars a month per child to help cope with the ongoing pandemic. The strategy of decoupling Build Back Better from the infrastructure bill, on the one hand, looks smart now because Democrats might not have gotten either done by the end of the year and the party would have looked incapable of governing. On the other hand, separating the two took away progressives’ leverage over Manchin, who was more motivated to pass the infrastructure measure. It’s also a lesson in not overpromising. Politicians do this all the time — promise the world, but the realities of partisanship and slim majorities mean they can’t possibly get done as much as they vow to do. That can lead to cynicism among the electorate, and often registering blame where it perhaps doesn’t belong. At the end of the day, if Build Back Better eventually does pass, it will be an important piece of legislation that will affect millions of people’s lives. Unfortunately for Democrats, an [NPR/Marist poll]( from earlier this month showed Americans aren’t feeling that the bigger child tax credit helped much and are pessimistic that Build Back Better would help people like them. — [Domenico Montanaro]( NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- ICYMI: Top Stories Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images Meadows contempt vote: The House voted this week [to hold former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress]( over his refusal to fully cooperate with the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. The vote came just one day after lawmakers on the panel [released text messages that Meadows received on the day of the siege]( in which Fox News hosts and Donald Trump Jr. urged him to get former President Donald Trump to address his supporters who were attacking the Capitol. Biden’s anti-red tape order: President Biden signed an executive order [aimed at reducing the friction and difficulty many Americans encounter in dealing with federal agencies](. The order streamlines the process for applying for Social Security and Medicare benefits online, makes it simpler for survivors of disasters to apply for federal assistance, and directs the State Department to create a process to allow for [online passport renewal](. Debt ceiling raised: Both chambers of Congress voted this week to [increase the federal borrowing limit by $2.5 trillion]( in order to avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debts. Democrats say the move allows the government to avoid a default until 2023, when whichever party controls Congress after the midterms has to again deal with the issue. Biden trucking plan: Trucks are responsible for carrying some 72% of goods within the U.S. The Biden administration is now launching [an effort to recruit and hire more truckers]( to address ongoing supply chain issues and to bolster an industry stretched thin by the ongoing pandemic. D.C. sues far-right groups: Washington, D.C.'s attorney general is [suing the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups for allegedly conspiring]( to terrorize the city on Jan. 6. The lawsuit accuses the groups of violating the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, a law passed after the Civil War to try to protect Black citizens from violence and intimidation. Candidates impacted by gun violence: Earlier this year, the gun control group Everytown launched a new program to train its volunteers to run for office. [Among them are people whose lives have been directly impacted by gun violence](. — [Brandon Carter]( NPR Politics social media producer In 2021, we’ve brought you the stories you need to hear – more in-depth conversations, more unheard voices. [Please donate to your NPR station]( so we can bring you more of what you love. The Shot: David Schaper/NPR [Photographs]( and [drone video]( out of Mayfield, Ky., of the aftermath of last week’s deadly tornado are simply stunning. Footage shows parts of town — downtown, a factory and neighborhoods — ripped to pieces and flattened, then scattered across huge swaths. The series of storms tore through Mayfield as well as other parts of the South and Midwest, leaving Kentucky hardest hit. Teams there [have been searching for scores of missing people]( as well as [cleaning up the mountains of debris](. One resident of Mayfield who huddled with her family as the tornado tore through her home tells NPR she is thankful to be alive, but, she says, [“We lost everything”]( — including the Christmas tree, which her 8-year-old granddaughter thinks was sucked up with the presents. — [Heidi Glenn]( NPR Digital editor --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Listen Live]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [nprpolitics@npr.org](mailto:nprpolitics@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! [They can sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Politics emails. 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