Senate Democrats Outline $3.5 Trillion Antipoverty, Climate Plan

WASHINGTON—Senate Democrats released an outline of the $3.5 trillion antipoverty and climate plan they hope to approve this fall, further detailing their ambitions for the major legislative effort that they intend to approve without Republican support.

The plan, which is set to offer universal prekindergarten, two free years of community college, and expanded Medicare to cover hearing, dental and vision care, is the second of two major packages encapsulating President Biden’s agenda that lawmakers are pushing through Congress this year. The first, the roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan, is nearing final passage in the Senate.

Democrats are planning to raise taxes on corporations and high-income households to cover the cost of the $3.5 trillion plan, which also 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. 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.

The legislation could “give tens of millions of families a leg up,” Mr. Schumer wrote in a letter to Senate Democrats Monday morning.

Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee had previously reached an agreement on the $3.5 trillion top-line figure, with the additional materials released Monday providing a broader list of the party’s hopes for the package. The release of the budget outline will also allow Democrats to begin the formal process for writing and approving the bill.