Infrastructure talks run into hurdles as pressure mounts
WASHINGTON — Senators ran into new problems Monday as they raced to seal a bipartisan infrastructure deal, with pressure mounting on all sides to show progress on President Biden’s top priority.
Heading into a makeorbreak week, serious roadblocks remain. Disputes have surfaced over how much money should go to public transit and water projects. And other disagreements over spending and wage requirements for highways, broadband and other areas remain unresolved, as well as whether to take unspent COVID19 relief money to help pay for the infrastructure.
Biden, asked about the outlook, told reporters at the White House he remained optimistic about reaching a compromise.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden himself “worked the phones all weekend,” and that the administration was encouraged by the progress.
This week is crucial after more than a monthlong slog of negotiations since Biden and the bipartisan group first celebrated the contours of the nearly $1 trillion bipartisan agreement in June. The White House wants a bipartisan agreement for this first phase, before Democrats go it alone to tackle broader priorities in a bigger $3.5 trillion budget plan that’s on deck. A recent poll from the Associated PressNORC found 8 in 10 Americans favor some increased infrastructure spending, and the current package could be a political win for all sides as lawmakers try to show voters that Washington can work.
But as talks drag on, anxious Democrats, who have slim control of the House and Senate, face a timeline to act on what would be some of the most substantial legislation in years. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned senators they could be kept in session this weekend to finish the work. He wants progress on both packages before the August recess.
“It’s time for everyone to get to ‘yes,’ ” Schumer said as he opened the Senate.
The bipartisan package includes about $600 billion in new spending on public works projects, the first phase of Biden’s big infrastructure proposals.
The Democrats and the White House had sent what they called a “global” offer to Republicans on remaining issues late Sunday, according to a Democratic aide close to the talks and granted anonymity to discuss them. But Republicans rebuffed the ideas, according to a GOP aide also granted anonymity to discuss the private talks.
The new proposal attempted to reopen issues that had already been resolved, the Republican aide said, suggesting the White House will need to show more flexibility.