Democrats, now entering a second year in control of both Congress and the White House, are beginning to fill the legislative calendar with a less ambitious agenda that veers far from the liberal wish list items that the party had hoped to pass into law by now.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to fellow Democrats on Friday to outline some of the legislative plans for the year ahead.

The list left out virtually all of the major campaign promises made by Democrats and President Joe Biden, such as free preschool, free community college, a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, expanded Medicare, and the implementation of green energy policies meant to end the use of fossil fuels and curb carbon emissions.

All of those proposals were met with defeat during Biden’s first year in office, and much of it was quashed not by Republicans but by centrists in the Democratic-led Congress.

“There is a great deal to be proud of,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, insisted Thursday, defending Democratic control of government a day after the defeat of major voting legislation.

The voting bill was defeated at the hands of Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona after the two lawmakers refused to back a rule change that would have circumvented the long-standing GOP filibuster.

Pelosi also gave a nod to the sidelined Build Back Better Act, which was to be Biden’s signature economic achievement. It would have spent $1.75 trillion providing a broad array of new government services and subsidies. The measure stalled in the Senate thanks to opposition from Manchin, who now wants to start over with a new bill that will likely be much smaller.

“With that, we go on to what we want to do next,” Pelosi said.

The agenda now includes second-tier priorities unlikely to register with voters ahead of the midterm elections in November. The list includes passing government spending for 2022. The legislation is already more than three months late thanks to partisan differences that forced Congress to pass consecutive stopgap measures.

The House will also take up legislation aimed at bolstering American competitiveness in producing key technology and improving gaps in the supply chain. Lawmakers will also consider legislation that would authorize “robust sanctions” against Russian government officials and financial institutions with regard to the Ukraine crisis.

Finally, Pelosi pitched the Honoring our PACT Act, a bipartisan bill providing funding to help military veterans who suffered injuries from exposure to burn pits. The speaker said lawmakers may also reconsider legislation to reform the financially troubled U.S. Post Office, an effort that began two decades ago but has yet to pass Congress.

Pelosi touted the steep price tag accompanying the list of legislation. “All of these are big bills,” Pelosi said. But none will resonate with the Democratic base clamoring for the benefits included in Build Back Better and for a pathway to citizenship for millions of people living in the United States illegally. Democrats are depending on high enthusiasm among their voting base to help them hang on to the majorities in the House and Senate despite the political backlash that normally occurs in the midterm election.

“Democrats have their work cut out for them in 2022,” Democratic strategist Christopher Hahn told the Washington Examiner.

Some liberals in the Democratic caucus are calling on Biden to use his authority to implement the party’s agenda through executive action, as President Barack Obama did during his second term when he faced Congressional gridlock.

Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, in a Washington Post oped, called on Biden to implement Build Back Better unilaterally.

“Taking executive action will also make clear to those who hinder Build Back Better that the White House and Democrats will deliver for Americans,” Jayapal wrote.

Democrats are now on the verge of losing both the House and the Senate in November. The Senate is equally divided, while Democrats cling to a 10seat majority in the House. Biden’s poll approval numbers have sunk to the 30s and 40s among voters, including in the key independent bloc.

Hahn told the Washington Examiner that predictions of significant Democratic losses in November are premature because a lot can change in the next 11 months that would ultimately help the party in the eyes of voters. He also cited an impending ruling by the Supreme Court that could revert abortion law back to the states, which would energize Democrats.

“If, as predicted, the omicron variety is a signal of the end of the pandemic, the supply chain issues are resolved — the national mood will change, and that will help Democrats,” Hahn said. “Furthermore, the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v .Wade, making choice a major issue for the midterms, and that will greatly favor Democrats ... in particular Senate Democrats.”

But Democrats aren’t going to rely solely on those factors.

Biden is restarting talks with Manchin on parts of the Build Back Better plan. Pelosi endorsed the idea Thursday, telling reporters she is “optimistic” that a deal can be reached on “something significant.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Friday that Biden is committed to getting some of it signed into law.

“We have 50 votes in the Senate,” Psaki said. “We’re going to get a big mountain-sized chunk, whatever you want to call it — as much as we can of the Build Back Better agenda that we can get 50 votes for.”