Congress Embarks on Epic Battle over Biden Infrastructure Plan

The U.S. Congress is poised for a long battle over President Joe Biden’s infrastructure investment plan as Democrats argue with Republicans and among themselves over the $2 trillion cost and how the money should be parceled out in coming years, Reuters reported.

Democrats, with effective control of the Senate and a slim majority in the House of Representatives aim to deliver a final bill for the Democratic president to sign into law between July 4 and early September.

They have said they want Republican support for the plan, but have also pledged to move unilaterally if they cannot make prompt progress.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer invoked special fast-track budget rules to pass Biden’s recent $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill without Republican support. Schumer may have to go that route again, as Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday he would not support tax increases or deficit spending in the bill.

“I’m going to bring Republicans into the Oval Office, listen to them, what they have to say and be open to other ideas,” Biden said in a speech in Pittsburgh on Wednesday unveiling the proposal. “We’ll have a good-faith negotiation with any Republican who wants to get this done,”

Liberal Democrats urged Biden to be more ambitious.

“Needs to be way bigger,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. Senator Ed Markey, a fellow progressive, has called for $11 trillion in spending over the next decade.

The Associated General Contractors of America, a construction group, praised the job creation that Biden’s plan would ignite, but attacked a measure it said would provide new protections for workers trying to join labor unions.

Biden’s plan initially calls for $2 trillion in new spending on everything from roads and bridges to broadband and elderly care, along with higher corporate taxes. Economists say the measures could create millions of blue-collar jobs.

Biden may also unveil a second spending package in April.

Republican former President Donald Trump had pledged infrastructure legislation in 2017, but it never got off the ground in part because of partisan disagreements over funding mechanisms.

Last month, Congress passed Biden’s coronavirus aid package without Republican support.

This time around, a dizzying array of congressional committees, ranging from House and Senate tax-writing panels to those that oversee health policy, the environment and transportation, are expected to struggle to find consensus.

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