Schumer says Democrats moving "full speed ahead" on $3.5 trillion spending package

Washington — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday the Senate is moving "full speed ahead" on a sweeping $3.5 trillion spending package, rejecting a suggestion from Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, whose support for the plan is crucial, that Congress take a "strategic pause" on the legislation.

"We're moving full speed ahead," Schumer told reporters in a press call when asked whether the Senate would hit pause on the bill. "We want to keep going forward." Democratic-led congressional committees are crafting their respective portions of the massive $3.5 trillion bill that will encompass plans for expanding Medicare, child and elder care, universal pre-K and the environment. The legislation is the second prong of Democrats' two-track strategy for enacting key pillars of the president's economic agenda, with the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill approved by the Senate last month.