Water bill might open spigot for Biden infrastructure plan
Rarely has a routine water resources bill generated so much political buzz
WASHINGTON – Rarely has a routine water resources bill generated so much political buzz, but as senators hoisted the measure to passage Thursday the bipartisan infrastructure legislation served as a potential template for building consensus around President Joe Biden’s ambitious American Jobs Plan.
The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 authorizes about $35 billion over five years to improve leaky pipes and upgrade facilities, and is widely supported by lawmakers and their states back home. This time, though, it could be so much more – a building block in Biden’s broader $2.3 trillion proposal to invest in roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Senators overwhelmingly approved the measure, 89-2, in what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called “a great example” of what’s possible in Congress.
Still, the day after Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress outlining his sweeping proposals to reinvest in America infrastructure the path ahead is expected to be long and politically daunting.
With Congress essentially split, and Democrats holding only slim majorities in the House and Senate, Biden and the congressional leaders will soon have to decide how they plan to muscle his priority legislation into law.
The White House is reaching out to Republicans, as Biden courts GOP lawmakers for their input on the package and to win over their votes.
Biden spoke by phone Thursday with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., a leader on the water bill who is also working on a Republican alternative to Biden’s infrastructure plan.
They had a warm, friendly conversation, reiterating their willingness to negotiate, the White House said. They also discussed having another potential in-person meeting in the near future.
“We both expressed our mutual desire to work together and find common ground,” said Capito, the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, in a statement.
Capito called it “a constructive and substantive call” and said she stands ready to “be a partner in advancing infrastructure legislation in a bipartisan way–just as we’ve done in the past.”
But most Republicans are opposing Biden’s overall agenda as big government overreach. Together the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan, a robust investment in free preschool, community college and child tax breaks, sum an eye-popping $4 trillion.
The water bill is an example of what’s possible, but also the gaping divide.
The $35 billion effort falls far short of what the president has proposed, $111 billion over eight years, for water projects in his big infrastructure plan. But it is in line with what Capito and the Republican senators proposed last week as their counter offer to Biden’s package, and could serve as a piece of that or starting point in talks.
“We know the next couple of weeks and months are going to be tough,” said Capito, in a speech before the vote. But she said she was hopeful colleagues would