Negotiations for President Biden’s infrastructure bill have hit a roadblock over disagreements between Democratic and Republican views of the plan. Biden has remained committed to making this plan a bipartisan one, but it is uncertain if it will be able to stay that way.
The President and six Republican senators have been in discussions for weeks, and both sides were making some progress, although not the kind of progress the administration was hoping to have made by this point. Now, the $4 trillion infrastructure package is in jeopardy because the talks continue to move slowly, with Republicans unwilling to support the plan in its current form.
The White House has imposed a deadline, stating that they would like a deal done by Memorial Day. Biden has acknowledged, however, that he would be willing to let negotiations play out if there begins to be some progress. Both sides have fundamental disagreements about infrastructure, as Republican Senator Susan Collins has pointed out. “We, Republicans, tend to define infrastructure in terms of roads, bridges, seaports and airports and broadband. The Democratic definition seems to include social programs that have never been considered part of core infrastructure,” she said in an interview.
The Biden Administration coughed up a counteroffer, lowering the cost of the plan to make it $1.7 trillion. The new offer was closer to what Republicans wanted, although it still wasn’t enough for them to move the needle. “The President put forward a reasonable offer in the interest of finding bipartisan common ground that includes critical investments in our infrastructure to create middle class jobs and strengthen our competitiveness in the world, as well as cuts to his original proposal and a way to pay for it,” Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.
If there is a continuing unwillingness to compromise, the Democrats can take it upon themselves to use the procedure of reconciliation, which would allow for the bill to pass with just a majority vote. Senator Bernie Sanders has said that this should be the path forward if progress isn’t made soon, saying, “We would like bipartisanship, but I don’t think we have a seriousness on the part of the Republican leadership to address the major crisis facing this country. And if they’re not coming forward, we’ve got to go forward alone.”
The one thing both sides can agree on is that they want this issue to be resolved soon—hopefully with a bipartisan effort to pass an infrastructure plan.
Sources:
https://nypost.com/2021/05/23/wh-biden-will-change-course-on-infrastructure-if-gop-talks-stall/
