U.S. senators gird for CBO analysis of $1 trillion infrastructure bill
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[August 05, 2021] By
Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A $1 trillion
bipartisan infrastructure bill on Thursday faces its biggest test of
this week's U.S. Senate debate when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget
Office delivers its judgment on whether the measure fulfills a promise
of not adding to Washington's budget deficits.
Negotiators on the bill, which would fund construction projects ranging
from road and bridge repairs to expanding broadband internet service,
have argued that its $550 billion in new spending was being financed in
large part by transferring money from existing programs.
Republican Senator Rob Portman, a lead negotiator, on Wednesday reminded
senators that the legislation will bring federal dollars for
high-priority improvement projects.
"As a life-long Cincinnatian, I've seen firsthand the dire need to
invest in a solution for the aging Brent Spence Bridge" that spans the
Ohio River, Portman said.
Increased economic activity related to new construction jobs and
business growth stemming from the $1 trillion in investments were
expected to spur government revenue collections, although maybe by not
as much as lawmakers hope.
If the CBO concludes lawmakers have fallen short in crafting a
deficit-neutral bill, it could prompt some Republican senators to oppose
the legislation after showing support in two early procedural votes.
In late July, 17 Republicans joined 48 Democrats and two independents in
voting to advance the bill.
Those 67 votes are comfortably more than the 60 votes needed to pass the
legislation.
No more than seven Republicans could cite newfound fiscal concerns and
abandon the legislation on a final vote for it to still have enough
support to pass, assuming all 50 Democrats and independents stay on
board.
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The U.S. Capitol
Building is pictured in Washington, U.S., August 1, 2021.
REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
Among the 17 Republicans who gave an early green light are fiscal conservatives
including Charles Grassley, John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer.
Conversely, a good grade from the CBO could prompt Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer to move to limit debate in order to wrap up work on the bill promptly,
especially if senators felt they had adequate opportunity since Monday to offer
their amendments.
It also would give Republicans, who are campaigning in the 2022 congressional
elections against Democrats' other big-ticket spending bills, reason to argue
that this infrastructure bill would bring long-needed repairs to publicly owned
facilities without adding to the nation's $28.6 trillion debt.
If and when the $1 trillion bill passes, the Democratic-controlled Senate will
then turn its attention to ramming through a $3.5 trillion "human
infrastructure" budget framework that Republicans oppose by using a special
procedure temporarily scrapping the 60-vote threshold for bills to advance.
It would finance more home healthcare and child care, along with climate change
and immigration initiatives - projects that President Joe Biden wants to pay for
in part with tax increases on the wealthy.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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