WASHINGTON—Senate Democrats released an outline of the $3.5 trillion antipoverty and climate plan on Monday, further detailing their ambitions for a major overhaul of the nation’s education and healthcare systems that they hope to advance alongside a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The antipoverty plan is set to offer universal prekindergarten, two free years of community college, and expanded Medicare to cover hearing, dental and vision care, among other provisions.
Democrats will turn to it after the roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package, which includes new spending on roads, bridges, transit and broadband internet and is expected to pass the Senate on Tuesday. Lawmakers said they had resolved a dispute over a new cryptocurrency regulation in the public works bill, though the solution may not receive an amendment vote.
The two packages represent almost the entirety of President Biden’s economic agenda, with Democrats shoehorning a variety of policy goals into the $3.5 trillion plan to sidestep Republican opposition in the Senate.
To cover the cost, Democrats are seeking to raise taxes on corporations and high-income households. The plan outlined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) on Monday also includes offering a pathway to lawful permanent status for certain migrants to the U.S. and lowering the price of prescription drugs. It calls for a federal paid leave benefit, a series of energy tax incentives and a program to push the U.S. to receive 80% of its electricity from clean sources by 2030.
