After delivering remarks at the White House on the U.S. vaccination effort and the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden said that talks on his economic agenda have hit a "stalemate," but expressed optimism that both bills – the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation measure – will pass.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden said that talks on his economic agenda have hit a "stalemate," but expressed optimism that both of the bills critical to his domestic policy will pass

  • Congress is racing toward deadlines on the two key parts of Biden's agenda: The $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed the Senate over the summer, and the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation measure known as the "Build Back Better Act"

  • The president met with Democratic members of the House and Senate earlier this week in an effort to forge a path ahead on both bills

  • Lawmakers have raised objections over the sweep and scope of the plan, which is to be funded by higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, but Biden said he tried to get them focused on priorities

“I think it's just going to take some time,” the president said. “This is a process and it's going to be up and down. That’s why I don’t look at the polls. Not a joke, because it’s going to go up, it’s going to go down, it’s going to go up, and hopefully at the end of the day I’ll be able to deliver on what I said I would do.” 

“Now we're at a stalemate at the moment and we're going to have to get these two pieces of legislation passed," Biden said. "Both need to be passed."

The president's remarks come at a critical time for both pieces of his agenda – the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which was passed by the Senate earlier this summer and provides funding for roads, bridges, broadband and other public work projects, and the larger budget bill, which and provides funding for key domestic priorities including free community college and paid family leave. The budget bill does not need the support of Republicans to pass using the Senate's budget reconciliation process.

Congress is racing toward a deadline Monday to hold a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. 

The president met with Democratic members of the House and Senate earlier this week in an effort to forge a path ahead on both bills. The White House called the meetings "productive and candid" and said they made "progress," while Biden described the tone as collegial and with "no hollering."

On Thursday, members of Congressional leadership announced that the White House and Senate and House Democrats reached an agreement on how to fund their multi-trillion dollar budget reconciliation measure.

Lawmakers have raised objections over the sweep and scope of the plan, which is to be funded by higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, but Biden said he tried to get them focused on priorities — what they can and can’t live with.

"It’s about paying your fair share, for lord’s sake," Biden said. "There clearly is enough, from a panoply of options, to pay for whatever it is."

But, the president said, talks could drag: "It's just going to take some time"

In a note to colleagues sent later Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote that "we are moving forward to advance" Biden's agenda, noting that the House Budget Committee on Saturday will mark-up the $3.5 trillion budget bill, known as the Build Back Better Act.

"As negotiations continue, there may be changes," Pelosi said in her note, but pledged at the Capitol that "it is my intention to bring our bills to the floor when we are ready."

Biden’s big vision over his “Build Back Better” campaign promise proposes expanding health, education and federal programs, with more services for Americans of all ages, while investing heavily in efforts to tackle climate change. All this would be paid for largely by hiking tax rates on corporations and wealthy individuals, those earning beyond $400,000 a year, or $450,000 for married couples.

But centrist Democrats see the overall price tag as too much, while progressive lawmakers are hesitant to compromise any further after already having dropped even more ambitious ideas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.