Discussions were expected to continue this weekend, all sides suggesting just a few issues remained unsettled in the sweeping package of social services and climate change strategies.
Biden met at the White House on Friday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined by a video call from New York, trying to shore up details. The leaders have been working with party moderates and progressives to decrease the once-$3.5 trillion, 10-year package to around $2 trillion in child care, health care and clean energy programs.
Pelosi said a settlement was "very possible." She told reporters back at the Capitol that more than 90% of the package was agreed to: The climate change components of the bill "are resolved," but notable questions remained on health care provisions.
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Vice President Kamala Harris sounded even more specific. On a visit to New York City, she said tensions often stand over final details but "I am confident, frankly -- not only optimistic, but I am confident that we will reach a deal."
No agreement was announced by Friday's self-imposed deadline to at least agree on a basic outline. Biden wants a deal before he leaves next week for global summits in Europe.
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Pelosi believed the House could start voting as soon as next week, but no schedule was determined.
Sticking points appear to include proposed corporate tax increases to help fund the plan and lower prescription drug costs that have raised concerns from the pharmaceutical industry. Democrats are searching for a broad compromise between the party's progressives and moderates on the measure's price tag, revenue sources, and essential components.
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At the White House, the president has "rolled up his sleeves and is deep in the details of spreadsheets and numbers," press secretary Jen Psaki said.
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Biden was to spend the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. Psaki compared the work to starting Social Security and other major federal programs decades ago and then building on them in the following years.
"Progress here is a historic package that will put in place systems and programs that have never existed in our society before," she said, stressing the effort to expand child care and provide free prekindergarten for all youngsters. Negotiations are pr
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Meetings continue as Biden more vigorously appeals to the American public, including in a televised town hall, for what he says are the middle-class values at the heart of his proposal.
They are about to reach a compromise.
President Joe Biden and Congress' top Democrats came close to sealing their enormous domestic legislation. However, the informal deadline seemed to slip as they worked to balance back the measure and learn how to pay for it.
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Discussions were expected to continue this weekend, all sides suggesting just a few issues remained unsettled in the sweeping package of social services and climate change strategies.
Biden met at the White House on Friday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined by a video call from New York, trying to shore up details. The leaders have been working with party moderates and progressives to decrease the once-$3.5 trillion, 10-year package to around $2 trillion in child care, health care and clean energy programs.
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Pelosi said a settlement was "very possible." She told reporters back at the Capitol that more than 90% of the package was agreed to: The climate change components of the bill "are resolved," but notable questions remained on health care provisions.
Vice President Kamala Harris sounded even more specific. On a visit to New York City, she said tensions often stand over final details but "I am confident, frankly -- not only optimistic, but I am confident that we will reach a deal."
No agreement was announced by Friday's self-imposed deadline to at least agree on a basic outline. Biden wants a deal before he leaves next week for global summits in Europe.
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Pelosi believed the House could start voting as soon as next week, but no schedule was determined.
Sticking points appear to include proposed corporate tax increases to help fund the plan and lower prescription drug costs that have raised concerns from the pharmaceutical industry. Democrats are searching for a broad compromise between the party's progressives and moderates on the measure's price tag, revenue sources, and essential components.
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At the White House, the president has "rolled up his sleeves and is deep in the details of spreadsheets and numbers," press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Biden was to spend the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. Psaki compared the work to starting Social Security and other major federal programs decades ago and then building on them in the following years.
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"Progress here is a historic package that will put in place systems and programs that have never existed in our society before," she said, stressing the effort to expand child care and provide free prekindergarten for all youngsters.
Meetings continue as Biden more vigorously appeals to the American public, including in a televised town hall, for what he says are the middle-class values at the heart of his proposal.