The House will resume consideration of the $1.2 infrastructure bill Friday morning after Thursday night slipped away without a vote. 

Negotiations that would secure moderate Democrats鈥� support of President Joe Biden鈥檚 separate social spending bill 鈥� the deal that progressives are waiting for in order to vote for the infrastructure package 鈥� are continuing.

 鈥淎 great deal of progress has been made this week, and we are closer to an agreement than ever,鈥� White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. 鈥淏ut we are not there yet, and so, we will need some additional time to finish the work, starting tomorrow morning first thing.鈥� 

Meanwhile Biden signed a continuing resolution Thursday night, avoiding a government shutdown and giving the Senate until Dec. 3 to work on the fiscal year 2022 budget. The president鈥檚 proposed budget includes significant increases for Title I, special education and community schools.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much more to do,鈥� the president said in a statement. 鈥淏ut the passage of this bill reminds us that bipartisan work is possible and it gives us time to pass longer-term funding to keep our government running and delivering for the American people.鈥�

Democrats, however, wanted to include language that would lift the debt ceiling, which the government will hit Oct. 18. Republicans voted against that plan.

With Congress tackling overlapping budget issues this week, advocates are most focused on saving President Joe Biden鈥檚 bold agenda for schools and families.

The proposed $3.5 trillion 鈥淏uild Back Better鈥� plan, which would lower costs that are 鈥渟queezing families month after month and year after year,鈥� includes major increases for early-childhood education, teacher and principal preparation, school construction and community college. But Democrats don鈥檛 have enough support to pass it, even though they鈥檙e using a process known as reconciliation, which doesn鈥檛 require a single Republican vote.

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who along with fellow Democrat Krysten Sinema of Arizona to such sweeping legislation, made it clear in a statement Wednesday night that he can鈥檛 be convinced otherwise.

鈥淪ince the beginning of this reconciliation debate, I have been consistent in my belief that any expansion of social programs must be targeted to those in need, not expanded beyond what is fiscally possible,鈥� Manchin . 鈥淲hile I am hopeful that common ground can be found that would result in another historic investment in our nation, I cannot 鈥� and will not 鈥� support trillions in spending or an all or nothing approach that ignores the brutal fiscal reality our nation faces.鈥�

The debate over the president鈥檚 agenda has revealed sharp divides among Democrats, while Republicans have held a united front against compromise proposals. Disagreement among Democrats is most obvious over the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was weighing whether to bring to a vote Thursday. Moderates have demanded a vote on the funding for roads, bridges and broadband, while progressives have said they won鈥檛 support the infrastructure bill unless they first get a vote on the larger reconciliation bill.

It鈥檚 not the infrastructure bill THEN maybe the Build Back Better package down the road. That wasn鈥檛 the deal.

Progressives won鈥檛 back down. We鈥檙e fighting the people鈥檚 fight and we鈥檙e going to deliver the entire Build Back Better agenda.

鈥� Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal)

Adding to the tension, Congress will try to avert a government shutdown Thursday by passing a continuing resolution that keeps the government open past the end of the fiscal year. Democrats are also faced with meeting an Oct. 18 deadline to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its loans.

The House on Wednesday passed, along party lines, a bill to raise the government’s $28 trillion debt limit 鈥� the total amount the government can borrow to cover its obligations. But the bill is not expected to pass in the Senate. Defaulting can lead to , hinder and make it much harder to cover the costs of the reconciliation bill if it passes.

Democrats argue that the Trump administration was partially responsible for the increase in spending, so Republicans should bear some of the responsibility for raising the limit. But Republicans have said as long as Democrats control Congress and the White House, they can add it to their reconciliation bill.

The ongoing stalemate has some wondering whether the bill will survive.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to figure there鈥檚 now a chance, very small but real, that the bill stalls out,鈥� Rick Hess, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said about the proposed $3.5 trillion package.

Dropping the total price tag, perhaps as low as , could 鈥渟et off some brutal intramural battles among the [Democrats],鈥� Hess said, and would 鈥渃ertainly offer a stress test of various Democratic priorities.鈥�

Mary Filardo, executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, which advocates for modernizing schools, is among those lobbying to keep their priorities in the final package. She鈥檚 been meeting with Senate staff members about the $82 billion slated for school construction and repairs.

鈥淭hey seem pretty subdued, like they don鈥檛 really know what is going on,鈥� she said, adding that they 鈥渟upport the issue, but it doesn鈥檛 seem to be a must have.鈥�

Cutting school construction funding, she said, could impact another key priority in the package 鈥� universal preschool. While Biden鈥檚 $200 billion plan would put some classrooms in community-based centers, schools would also need to accommodate more pre-K students.

鈥楥ould still be effective鈥� 

Some observers suggested there鈥檚 room to negotiate amounts over the big-ticket provisions, such as pre-K, child care and free community college.

鈥淎ll of these could still be effective even if the top line numbers go down,鈥� said Julia Martin, legislative director at Brustein and Manasevit, a law firm specializing in education.

But Shantel Meek, a professor at Arizona State University and director of the Children鈥檚 Equity Project, said she hopes lawmakers don鈥檛 trim the preschool proposal by 鈥減itting access and quality against one another. In order for [universal pre-K] to meet the promise we know it can, we need access to quality 鈥� that means supporting the whole child, whole family.鈥�

Others are concerned whether some of the smaller provisions would get cut from the package, such as the $4 billion to continue the Emergency Connectivity Fund, which addresses the digital divide for students learning at home.

鈥淲e want to make sure the connectivity [and] devices provided 鈥� aren鈥檛 in a position to go dark and disconnect students,鈥� said Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director for advocacy and governance at AASA, The School Superintendents Association.

Originally part of the American Rescue Plan, the $7 billion program allows school districts to purchase devices for students and cover the cost of at-home internet service. According to the , more than $1.2 billion in funds have been awarded so far to 3,040 schools, 260 libraries and 24 organizations that include both. A second application window runs through Oct. 13.

Even if all of the education-related proposals stay in the package, Martin warned that one way negotiators could lower the final figure is to increase states鈥� share of the cost. The for example, currently calls for the federal government to pick up 100 percent of the cost of serving all 3- and 4-year-olds for the first two years, with states contributing increasing percentages of the cost over time.

鈥淢y concern would be if the state matches were to go up,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淚 think that would result in a patchwork implementation at best, and may make it more difficult for states to access funds.鈥�

Linda Smith, director of the Bipartisan Policy Institute鈥檚 Early Childhood Development Initiative, said another option would be to limit the number of years covered by the legislation or to limit the program to children with greater needs. But she said that would be hard to do after the president pledged it would be universal.

Nonetheless, she remains hopeful that the early-childhood proposals would remain a centerpiece of the final plan.

鈥淚t always gets a little crazy when the sausage-making gets into high gear,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 still think something will come out of this.鈥�