President Joe Biden expects to meet with lawmakers this week as a group of Democrats and Republicans try to forge an infrastructure plan that could get through Congress with bipartisan support, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.
At least 21 senators from both parties have backed a framework that seeks to spend roughly $1 trillion on transportation, broadband and water systems. Biden and Democratic congressional leaders have raised questions about how lawmakers plan to pay for the plan, while liberals have called it inadequate to fight climate change.
The president’s talks this week could mark a final push to find a compromise before Democrats try to pass a sprawling infrastructure plan on their own. While the discussions between Democrats and Republicans go forward, Biden’s party has started the process of drafting a budget resolution that would allow them to pass a bill without GOP votes.
A bipartisan deal could now depend on whether the White House and Republicans can strike a funding compromise, and on what Democratic leaders promise skeptical progressives they can pass as part of a separate bill. Biden will not support a potential increase in gas taxes or vehicle mileage fees — revenue raisers floated as part of the bipartisan talks — because they would break his promise not to hike taxes on people making less than $400,000 per year, Psaki told reporters Monday.
Reference: CNBC
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