Senate Democrats Announce $3.5 Trillion Budget Agreement

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats announced Tuesday that they have reached a budget agreement among themselves that envisions spending $3.5 trillion over the coming decade. The fiscal plan would pave the way for Democrats' drive to direct a huge pool of federal resources at climate change, health care and family-service programs sought by President Joe Biden.  

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced the accord flanked by all 11 Democrats on the chamber's budget committee after a two-hour evening meeting that capped weeks of bargaining among party leaders, progressives and moderates.  The agreement is a major step in Democrats' drive to turn Biden's effort to bolster an economy that was ravaged by the pandemic and set it on a course for long-term growth. Separately, bipartisan senators have been working toward another measure that would spend around $1 trillion on roads, water systems and other infrastructure projects.   If congressional Democrats rally behind the budget agreement announced Tuesday and push it through Congress in the coming weeks, it would help them enact a subsequent, sweeping bill that would actually fund their priorities.