Democrats' two-step infrastructure plan draws Republican ire
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[June 25, 2021]
By David Morgan, Richard Cowan and Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Hours after President
Joe Biden declared "We have a deal" to renew the infrastructure of the
United States, the Senate's top Republican lashed out at plans to follow
the $1.2 trillion bipartisan bill with another measure funding what
Democrats call "human infrastructure."
Biden and top congressional Democrats - House of Representatives Speaker
Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer - had long
signaled their plan to link the bipartisan deal with another bill
including spending on home health care and child care.
The second measure would be passed through a Senate maneuver called
reconciliation https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senates-reconciliation-process-its-not-way-it-sounds-2021-06-16,
which would allow it to take effect without Republican votes.
Biden told reporters at the White House that he expected quick action on
both measures - or neither would survive.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Jun/21/images/062121PIX/graue_21ENCORE_062121.png)
"I expect that in the coming months this summer, before the fiscal year
is over, that we will have voted on this (bipartisan) bill - the
infrastructure bill - as well as voted on the budget resolution," he
said. "But if only one comes to me, I'm not signing it. It's in tandem."
That drew a harsh response from Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell.
"Less than two hours after publicly commending our colleagues and
actually endorsing the bipartisan agreement, the President took the
extraordinary step of threatening to veto it," McConnell said on the
Senate floor. "It almost makes your head spin."
McConnell, Pelosi and Schumer have not been directly involved with the
bipartisan infrastructure talks. McConnell has not publicly stated if he
would back the initiative, though he called it "encouraging" in his
floor remarks.
Lindsey Graham, one of the 21 senators who had negotiated the bipartisan
deal, said in a tweet: "If reports are accurate that President Biden is
refusing to sign a bipartisan deal unless reconciliation is also passed,
that would be the ultimate deal breaker for me."
Progressive members of Congress - some of whom were pushing for a
sweeping $6 trillion bill - had indicated they would not support the
smaller bipartisan bill without a companion measure.
The $1.2 trillion framework https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-biden-infrastructure-details/factbox-whats-in-the-us-senates-12-trillion-infrastructure-plan-idUSL2N2O62AV
includes $579 billion in new spending on major investments in the power
grid, broadband internet services and passenger and freight rail.
The eight-year proposal contains $109 billion for roads, bridges and
major projects; $73 billion for power infrastructure; $66 billion for
passenger and freight rail; $65 billion for broadband access; $49
billion for public transit; and $25 billion for airports, according to a
White House statement.
That spending falls far short of Biden's original ambitions on schools,
climate change mitigation, and support for parents and caregivers, and
it doesn't include his bedrock pledge to make the U.S. economy more fair
by increasing taxes on the rich and corporations.
Biden vowed to move "full steam ahead" on those priorities.
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![](../images/062521pics/news_c5.jpg)
President Joe Biden exits the West Wing of the White House for
talking to the media, following a bipartisan meeting with U.S.
senators about the proposed framework for the infrastructure bill,
at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin
Lamarque
![](../images/ads/current/centraldirect_lda_SPONSOR_2021.png)
The compromise package would be paid for through more
than a dozen funding mechanisms, including $100 billion in estimated
tax revenues from a ramp-up in enforcement by the Internal Revenue
Service, unused COVID-19 aid money, unemployment insurance funds
returned by U.S. states, and oil sales from the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve.
The phrase "infrastructure week" became a Washington punchline
during Donald Trump's four years as president after he promised to
make such legislation a centerpiece but did not unveil a plan for
Congress to consider, including financing mechanisms for projects.
Schumer said he supported the outline of the deal but wanted to see
the details. He also said the $1.2 trillion bill focused on physical
infrastructure would not get the Democratic votes needed to pass it
without an accompanying package tackling social issues, including
home healthcare.
"All parties understand, we won't get enough votes to pass either,
unless we have enough votes to pass both," Schumer said on the
Senate floor. He said the Senate would aim for a vote on the
bipartisan plan next month.
RECONCILIATION REDUX
Pelosi said the House would vote on the bipartisan bill only after
the Senate had also approved the additional reconciliation bill,
meaning the battle over the bills could extend into September and
beyond.
Biden, seeking to fuel economic growth and address income inequality
after the coronavirus pandemic, initially proposed spending about
$2.3 trillion. Republicans chafed at his definition of
infrastructure, which included fighting climate change and providing
care for children and the elderly.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/May/27/images/ads/current/zion_lda_HOMETOWNHEROS_2021.png)
The White House later trimmed the package to about $1.7 trillion in
an unsuccessful bid to win the Republican support needed for any
plan to get the 60 votes required to advance most legislation in the
evenly split 100-seat Senate.
A major sticking point had been how to pay for the investments.
Biden has pledged not to increase taxes on Americans earning less
than $400,000 a year, while Republicans are determined to protect a
2017 cut in corporate taxes.
Republican Senator John Thune said there were questions about
whether watchdogs, including the Congressional Budget Office, would
recognize some of the funding mechanisms as achieving savings.
(Reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting
by Andrea Shalal, Susan Cornwell, Jarrett Renshaw, David Shepardson,
Makini Brice and Susan Heavey, Scott Malone; editing by Sonya
Hepinstall, Dan Grebler and Grant McCool)
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