FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at an event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, U.S., October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
October 22, 2021
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland
BALTIMORE (Reuters) -President Joe Biden will hold a CNN town hall event in Baltimore, Maryland, on Thursday to promote his economic plans as Democrats scramble to cement legislation that is at the heart of his domestic agenda and try to agree to how to pay for it.
The town hall will take place at the Baltimore Center Stage Pearlstone Theater at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT). The White House said Biden would take questions on his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal and a separate, social spending plan expected to cost under $2 trillion.
The social spending plan remains a subject of pitched debate on Capitol Hill and in the White House as negotiators look for the sweet spot between progressives wanting an array of new programs and moderates worried about the cost.
As Biden seeks a final agreement in coming days, questions have suddenly emerged about whether some of his most oft-cited promises, like raising taxes on corporations and high-earners, might have to be dropped to gain majority support.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden would insist that the legislation be paid for and not add to the deficit, which will be difficult to do without the tax increases he pushed as part of his presidential campaign last year.
As Biden’s motorcade arrived in Baltimore on Thursday night, several dozen demonstrators stood outside the venue chanting slogans in favor of liberal causes, including ending fossil fuel use and cementing a path to citizenship for immigrants.
The Senate bill, part of the broader social spending bill, is unlikely to include an immigration component, while the extent of the climate measures are still being negotiated with Senator Joe Manchin, who expressed concerns about Biden’s original proposal.
The town hall format is one that Biden appears to favor. He takes questions from reporters occasionally in brief encounters but has had few full-blown press conferences since taking office in January.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Sandra Maler)
