Progressives warn against 'false choice' in Biden bill trims

In this Oct. 7, 2021, photo, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the nearly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, talks to The Associated Press at the Capitol in Washington. In a letter on Oct. 13 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus argue the package should not simply be narrowed as centrist lawmakers prefer, but instead kept as Biden's bigger vision but for fewer than 10 years — “shorter, transformative investments” that could be started quickly and then revisited. “Much has been made in recent weeks about the compromises necessary to enact this transformative agenda,” wrote Jayapal, and other leaders of the 96-member progressive caucus in their letter, obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
In this Oct. 7, 2021, photo, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the nearly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, talks to The Associated Press at the Capitol in Washington. In a letter on Oct. 13 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus argue the package should not simply be narrowed as centrist lawmakers prefer, but instead kept as Biden's bigger vision but for fewer than 10 years — “shorter, transformative investments” that could be started quickly and then revisited. “Much has been made in recent weeks about the compromises necessary to enact this transformative agenda,” wrote Jayapal, and other leaders of the 96-member progressive caucus in their letter, obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) - Progressive leaders in Congress are warning colleagues against a "false choice" over what to keep or cut as Democrats scale back President Joe Biden's now-$2 trillion package of social services and climate change strategies.

In a letter Wednesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus argue the package should not simply be narrowed as centrist lawmakers prefer, but instead kept as Biden's bigger vision but for fewer than 10 years - "shorter, transformative investments" that could be started quickly and then revisited.

"Much has been made in recent weeks about the compromises necessary to enact this transformative agenda," wrote Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, and other leaders of the 96-member progressive caucus in their letter, obtained by the Associated Press.

"We have been told that we can either adequately fund a small number of investments or legislate broadly, but only make a shallow, short-term impact. We would argue that this is a false choice."