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May 23, 2021
The Biden administration on Friday submitted a slimmed-down version of its massive infrastructure package as part of an effort to compromise with congressional Republicans who have previously balked at the proposal’s multitrillion-dollar price tag and the tax hikes that would pay for it.
The updated plan, which now costs about $1.7 trillion, features reduced funding for broadband, roads, bridges and other major projects, Reuters reported. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that some components, such as investments in research and development, had been removed but would be included in other bills. Broader details about the new package have not yet been made public by the administration.
A White House memo obtained by The Associated Press notes that the cut of research and development funds alone account for $480 billion of the $550 billion total removed from the proposal. The initial package would be paid for at least in part by corporate tax increases, and the memo notes that the administration has not budged on this plan, saying the “approach should ensure that corporations are paying their fair share.”
“What I’ll say is that we started very far apart and the essence of negotiation is to see if we can come together,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said during a trip to Georgia on Friday, according to a pool report. “Through adjustments both to the size and scope of the president’s vision, we have moved to the tune of about half a trillion dollars. I’m hopeful that that will yield more progress in this bipartisan conversation. But of course, there are more steps to that and we’ll see how they respond and where things go from home.”
Biden and his team have been negotiating with Republicans over the infrastructure package for weeks now. A group of GOP senators met with Biden at the White House last week, with GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia saying after the meeting that her team felt “very encouraged,” according to the AP. Several senior administration officials, including Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, have since met with Republicans on Capitol Hill this week.
“This is democracy in action. We expect there to be ongoing engagements, follow-up conversations,” Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, before the updated proposal was reported.
The American Jobs Plan – previously valued at about $2.25 trillion – would repair many of the country’s ailing roads and bridges, provide funding for vehicle electrification and tackle climate change, among other aspirational efforts. The package also covers funding for welfare programs such as child care, with the president recently asserting that subsidizing such assistance should be considered infrastructure.
Recent polling indicates that Americans largely support the plan, even with the high price tag. An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey released last month showed that a strong majority of respondents favor the package and nearly two-thirds support the proposal of having wealthier Americans pick up the tab through increased taxes.
Beyond public opinion, Biden is being pulled in at least two directions in the negotiations. On one hand, Republicans have decried it as too costly, with tax hikes and funding for programs that expand the definition of infrastructure too much.
“I’m all for high-speed internet, building that out, but this has got to be the meat and potatoes of infrastructure: roads, bridges and ports. And that’s what we’re trying to push,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday.
But Biden has held his ground on the nature of his proposal, saying during Tuesday remarks at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, that he wants to “transform” the nation’s infrastructure. He also criticized the Trump administration during that speech, saying they “didn’t do a damn thing” and “didn’t get the job done” on infrastructure.
Members of Biden’s own party are pulling him in the other direction, encouraging the president and other Democratic leaders to stay the course when it comes to the package’s lofty goals. A letter signed by 59 House Democrats, first reported by ABC News on Tuesday, called on party leadership to “pursue a larger up-front investment” in infrastructure “that truly meets this historic moment.”
“While bipartisan support is welcome, the pursuit of Republican votes cannot come at the expense of limiting the scope of popular investments,” the letter reads, according to ABC News.
Time will tell on how both Democrats and Republicans respond to Biden’s updated plan. It might still be too costly for Republicans, with Graham saying earlier this week that “$800 to $900 billion” was something that could likely be agreed upon. But the president painted an optimistic picture earlier earlier this week, before the less-costly proposal was made public.
“We believe we can find a bipartisan deal on infrastructure,” Biden said during his remarks in Dearborn. “Doing nothing is not an option.”
