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Biden and Senate Republicans remain hundreds of billions of
dollars apart in their proposals, largely because the Democratic
president has a more sweeping definition of infrastructure that
includes funding for schools and home healthcare in addition to
roads, bridges and other physical assets.
The two parties have been inching closer in recent weeks. Capito,
the lead Senate Republican negotiator, unveiled last week a $928
billion counteroffer https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/republicans-vs-biden-whats-their-infrastructure-plans-2021-04-22
to Biden's $1.7 trillion proposal.
Wednesday's meeting in the Oval Office came as Biden faces
pressure from some Democrats in Congress to move forward with
the administration's plans. The president and his top aides have
said they prefer a bipartisan deal on infrastructure.
A White House official said Biden and Capito had a "constructive
and frank" discussion about the issue, but did not share more
details.
A spokeswoman for Capito said the senator is encouraged that
negotiations have continued.
She "reiterated to the president her desire to work together to
reach an infrastructure agreement that can pass Congress in a
bipartisan way," the spokeswoman added.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he spoke
to Capito on Wednesday before the meeting and that she would be
suggesting Biden embrace a Republican idea that some of the
money Congress appropriated for COVID-19 relief be repurposed
for infrastructure.
Speaking in Kentucky, McConnell said state and local officials
nationwide would be overwhelmed by "massive" amounts of money
from the latest COVID-19 aid bill, passed earlier this year
without Republican votes. Some of those funds could be used "to
plug the gap between what the gas tax raises, and what we would
like to do on infrastructure," he said.
"I think that's the key to getting a bipartisan agreement,"
McConnell said. "I hope we can get there."
Biden's Democrats hold narrow margins of control in both houses
of Congress and could try to pass a measure without Republican
support through a process called reconciliation that circumvents
Senate rules that require 60 votes to pass most legislation.
Even that approach is uncertain, however, as at least two Senate
Democrats have raised concerns about the maneuver.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has indicated time is
running out for negotiating a bipartisan deal.
Aside from the overall cost and scope of the plans, the White
House and Senate Republicans remain far apart on how to finance
infrastructure projects.
The White House wants to pay for infrastructure projects by
hiking taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals, which the
Republicans say is a red line for them. Republicans have
proposed user fees, which the Biden administration has rejected.
The White House hopes to conclude bipartisan talks in the next
week or so, according to a person familiar with the
negotiations.
(Reporting by Makini Brice and Nandita Bose; Editing by Jonathan
Oatis and Peter Cooney)
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