White House issues timeline on infrastructure
WASHINGTON — The White House plans to give the bipartisan infrastructure negotiations another week to 10 days before assessing next steps, which could include pursuing a Democrats-only approach to pass President Joe Biden’s sweeping jobs and families investment plans.
House Democrats were told about the administration’s latest thinking during a closed session Tuesday. House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., said the White House’s chief of staff Steve Ricchetti relayed the timeline to lawmakers as talks have been underway with a group of 10 senators devising a nearly $1 trillion proposal.
Democrats in both the House and Senate are taking steps in the budget committees to prepare a package for consideration as soon as July under special reconciliation rules that would enable majority passage without the need for Republican votes. A person granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door session confirmed the administration’s comments.
Yarmuth said the plan is, if bipartisan talks falter, “it’s full steam ahead” on the reconciliation package. The package being prepared by the House Budget Committee would include both the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan, which are Biden’s ambitious proposals to build not just roads and highways, but also the so-called human infrastructure of child care, veterans care and education facilities.
The president and the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate have been engaged in a two-track strategy — reaching for a bipartisan deal with Republicans but also setting the stage for a potential go-it-alone strategy in case talks fail.