带走阿维·哈珀
而一群参议院谈判者就…达成协议两党基础设施计划，一场更大的关于3.5万亿美元的民主党专用计划的战斗正在酝酿，该计划专注于“人力基础设施”
那个预算调节计划旨在使在医疗保健、带薪探亲假、教育和气候变化等社会优先领域进行大量投资。这将需要所有50名参议院民主党人参加一致同意。简而言之，他们不是。
“我不支持一项耗资3.5万亿美元的法案，”亚利桑那州参议员基尔斯顿·西内马(Kyrsten Sinema)周三在一份声明中写道。
纽约州亚历山德里亚·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯众议员通过以下方式回应了西内马推特她自己的警告部分地说，“祝你好运，在假设你能以3票的众议院优势存活下来的同时，破坏你自己政党在儿童保育、气候行动和基础设施方面的投资。”
众议院议长南希·佩洛西已经说过了没有预算和解计划的通过，她不会将这一两党计划提交表决。总统已经表示信任但仍在向全国各地的美国人推销这一人类基础设施计划。
美国总统拜登在白宫发布的一份声明中写道:“随着该协议进入整个参议院，仍有大量工作要做。"一路上会有分歧需要解决，会有更多的妥协需要达成。"
总统的最新声明预示着他必须知道的事情即将到来——完成这些主要议程项目的持续艰苦战斗。
与...的关系亚里沙·维尔塞马
疾病控制和预防中心在周三的每周新冠肺炎预测中预测，未来四周病例、住院人数和每日死亡人数将会增加。这一轨迹，连同该机构最近修订的掩蔽指南，是增加了已经紧张的气氛和党派气氛在首都。
据美国广播公司新闻首席白宫记者塞西莉亚·维加和莎拉·科里诺夫斯基报道，拜登是预计将宣布星期四联邦雇员将被要求接种疫苗，否则他们必须遵守“严格的新冠肺炎协议，如强制戴口罩-即使在没有高或大量传播的社区-和定期检测。”
虽然总统也说国家不会回到2020年那样的封锁状态，但是共和党人抓住不断变化的信息从过道对面传来。
通过收回恢复正常的进展，一些共和党人认为现在让未接种疫苗的人接种疫苗。
众议院共和党领袖凯文·麦卡锡说，恢复使用口罩“令人对安全有效的疫苗产生了怀疑”，尽管疾控中心补充说，口罩要求的恢复基于激增高度传播的变种。
麦卡锡还表示，此举“不是基于科学的决定。”针对这一评论，佩洛西的办公室表示，她认为这种观点“很愚蠢”
小费奎因·斯坎兰
纽约人周三有话要说关于身体在美国最大的城市进行选举。
“这几乎就像是选举委员会正在试图超越MTA，成为最受指责的公共机构，”州参议员刘醇逸在选举常设委员会上打趣道关于投票的听证会和帝国的选举。
那些在委员会作证的人和在场的参议员们一致认为重大改革是为了纽约BOE，它已经被像上个月那样的头条新闻困扰了很多年，当时有135，000张“测试选票”错误添加该市民主党的初步排名选择投票结果市长小学。
目击者证实，改革需要时间，可能还需要宪法修正案，但这需要消除BOE长期存在的“任人唯亲”文化，这种文化导致了无资格、党派色彩浓厚的人竞选。
“我真的不反对裙带关系和偏袒的文化，但我确实希望裙带关系和偏爱的人能够胜任，”亨利·弗莱克斯说。“可悲的是，事实并非如此。”
下周将在锡拉丘兹和罗切斯特举行更多听证会，主席敦促选民像投票本身一样，让他们的声音被听到。
Bipartisan infrastructure deal makes way for bigger Biden agenda battle: The Note
The TAKE withAveri Harper
While a group ofSenate negotiatorshave come to an agreement on thebipartisan infrastructure plan, there is a larger battle brewing over the $3.5 trillion Democrats-only plan focused on "human infrastructure."
That budget reconciliation planaims to makevast investments in social priorities like health care, paid family leave, education and climate change. It would require that all 50 Senate Democrats be inlockstep agreement. In short, they're not.
"I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion," wrote Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., in a statement Wednesday.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., responded to Sinema viaTwitterwith her own warning saying in part, "Good luck tanking your own party's investment on childcare, climate action, and infrastructure while presuming you'll survive a 3 vote House margin."
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosihas already saidshe wouldn't bring that bipartisan plan to the floor for a vote without the passage of the budget reconciliation plan. The president hasexpressed confidencein the bipartisan plan but is still selling that human infrastructure plan to Americans across the country.
"As the deal goes to the entire Senate, there is still plenty of work ahead to bring this home," President Joe Biden wrote in a White House-issued statement. "There will be disagreements to resolve and more compromise to forge along the way."
The president'slatest statementforeshadows what he must know is to come -- a continued uphill battle to get these major agenda items done.
The RUNDOWN withAlisa Wiersema
In its weekly COVID-19 forecast Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that cases, hospital admissions and daily deaths will increase over the next four weeks. That trajectory, along with the agency's recently revised masking guidance, isadding to an already tenseandpartisan atmospherein the nation's capital.
As reported by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega and Sarah Kolinovsky, Biden isexpected to announceThursday thatfederal employeeswill be required to be vaccinated or else they must abide by "stringent COVID-19 protocols like mandatory mask wearing -- even in communities not with high or substantial spread -- and regular testing."
Although the president also said the nation will not be heading back into a 2020-esque lockdown, Republicansseized on the changing messagescoming from across the aisle.
By retracting advances toward a return to normalcy,some Republicans arguedit will now be more difficult to get unvaccinated people totake the vaccine.
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said the return to using masks is "casting doubt on a safe and effective vaccine," despite the CDC adding that the return of mask requirements isbased on a surgeof highly transmissible variants.
McCarthy also said the move "is not a decision based on science." In response to that comment, Pelosi's office said she believes the view "is moronic."
The TIP withQuinn Scanlan
New Yorkers had something to say Wednesdayabout the bodythat runs elections in America's largest city.
"It's almost as if the Board of Elections is trying to overtake the MTA in most chastised public agency," quipped state Sen. John Liu during the Standing Committee on Elections' first of manyhearings about votingand elections in the Empire State.
Those testifying before the committee, and the senators present, were in universal agreement thatsignificant reformis in order for the NYC BOE, which has been plagued for years by headlines like last month's, when 135,000 "test ballots" weremistakenly addedto preliminary ranked-choice voting results for the city's Democraticmayoral primary.
Reform will take time, and potentially a constitutional amendment, but it's needed to rid the BOE of its chronic "cronyism" culture that's led to unqualified, deeply partisan people running elections, witnesses testified.
"I really have no issue with the culture of nepotism and favoritism, but I do want the nepites and the favorites to be competent," said Henry Flax. "Sadly, this is not the case."
More hearings are set for next week in Syracuse and Rochester and the chairman urged voters to, like voting itself,make their voices heard.
