Biden's Infrastructure Plan Tops Priorities as Congress Returns to Work
Kristina Peterson 2 hrs ago
WASHINGTON—A crucial period of negotiations expected to determine the size and scope of President Biden’s infrastructure package will kick off this week on Capitol Hill, when lawmakers return from a two-week recess.
Mr. Biden and Democratic leaders have said they hope to secure GOP support for the $2.3 trillion infrastructure package the president unveiled late last month. Mr. Biden said last week he planned to meet with Republicans, beginning Monday, in an effort to see where common ground can be found. But Democratic leaders have also made clear they will be willing to move forward without GOP support and tap a process tied to the budget known as reconciliation, as they did earlier this year on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
“We hope to do this in the most bipartisan way possible,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) told reporters Thursday. “If we have to go to reconciliation, that’s a lever, but I hope it’s not something that we need to do.”
Bills using reconciliation in the Senate can advance with just a simple majority, rather than 60 votes.
Mr. Biden has said he wants the package to be bipartisan, while also keeping the door open to passing the bill on party lines. But some Democrats have also aired disagreements over the size and makeup of the proposal, meaning party leaders face a challenge keeping the rank and file in line.
“Some think it’s too small; some think it’s too big. It’s like Goldilocks. We’ll have those discussions,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday, while also noting disagreements over how to pay for it.
Republicans have expressed skepticism over the breadth of Mr. Biden’s plan, which proposes spending $621 billion on transportation, along with $300 billion for domestic manufacturing, $180 billion for research and development and $400 billion for long-term care for elderly and disabled people under Medicaid, among other items.
And Senate Republicans were irked by Mr. Biden’s comments last week suggesting that they weren’t interested in compromising on the previous Covid-19 relief package, saying instead that he had ignored their entreaties.
While some GOP lawmakers have indicated they might be able to support a narrower package focused on more traditional infrastructure projects, it isn’t clear whether they would be able to reach an agreement with Democrats on how to pay for them, or whether Democrats would agree to a more limited plan. GOP leaders have rejected Mr. Biden’s proposal to raise the corporate tax rate to 28% from the current 21%.
Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.) said on Fox News Sunday that a smaller plan limited to spending on assets such as roads and bridges could be paid for by “repurposing” money for states that was included in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief law passed earlier this year.
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Posted By: Dea. Ron Gray Sr.
Monday, April 12th 2021 at 3:54AM
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