Senator Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia, left, speaks while Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, center, and Senator John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA , listen on Thursday April 22nd, 2021.
Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A group of Senate Republicans plan to send a counteroffer on infrastructure to President Joe Biden this week as the sides consider bridging an ideological divide to draft bipartisan law.
The proposal could cost nearly $ 1 trillion, and Republicans want to offset the spending without raising taxes. The group of GOP legislators intends to present the plan as early as Thursday morning.
Hopes for an agreement between the parties to modernize US transportation and broadband traffic appeared to have faded last week. After the White House cut infrastructure from $ 2.3 trillion to $ 1.7 trillion, an adviser to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, RW.Va.
The Republican group initially released a $ 568 billion infrastructure framework last month.
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Democrats have to decide whether they want to hack their plan enough to win Republican votes, or whether they want to try and get ahead themselves with special budget rules. It is unclear whether they would consider adopting parts of the proposal with GOP support and then approving other parts themselves.
The Biden government has said it will examine whether it can make progress on bipartisan infrastructure talks before Remembrance Day.
When asked about a meeting of the Republicans who led infrastructure efforts, Capito said she would wait and see how the White House responded. She noted that bipartisan plans that could become part of a broader infrastructure package – including an approximately $ 300 billion land transportation bill drawn up as the senior member of the environmental and public works committee – are making their way through Find congressional bodies.
“I think we have good momentum but we’ll see what [the White House’s] Reaction is, “said Capito on Tuesday.
The parties must resolve fundamental issues to reach an agreement on infrastructure, one of Biden’s top priorities in the White House. They disagreed on what should be considered infrastructure as Democrats push for a bill that includes guidelines including caring for the elderly and disabled Americans.
Biden also wants to pay for the legislation through tax increases for companies. Republicans have resisted any effort to raise the corporate rate, which was set at 21% after the 2017 GOP tax cuts.
“We won’t have any votes at all to manipulate the 2017 tax bill,” said Senator Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican and senior member of the Senate’s trade committee, on Tuesday.
Senator Pat Toomey, R-Pa., On Tuesday proposed using money that has already been approved by Congress but has not yet been spent. While he failed to specify what funds he thought could be used by lawmakers for other purposes, some Republicans have previously suggested using state and local state aid approved under coronavirus relief laws.
After Biden met six Republican senators earlier this month, the sides expressed hope of securing an infrastructure deal. However, an aide for Capito said the government and Republicans appeared “further apart” after the senators met with Biden’s staff.
Capito said Republicans are open to meeting Biden again.
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