Biden rebuffs Republican offer
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday dismissed a fresh Republican infrastructure proposal that offered modestly more spending but fell short of “his objectives to grow the economy,” the White House said.
His reaction cast further doubt on the two parties’ prospects for striking compromise on one of the administration’s chief legislative priorities as deadlines slip and time runs out to make progress toward a deal.
The White House released the statement after Biden spoke by phone with West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the chief GOP negotiator. Both sides said the two would speak again Monday, but Biden’s team made clear the president will be casting about for talks with other senators.
“The President expressed his gratitude for her effort and goodwill, but also indicated that the current offer did not meet his objectives to grow the economy, tackle the climate crisis, and create new jobs,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
A Capito statement provided no detail about their discussion or the new offer.
Making the pitch for Republicans, Capito had suggested around a $50 billion boost above the previous Republican offer of $928 billion, the White House said, still leaving the GOP well short of the $1.7 trillion that Biden is seeking.
In a further sign that a deal with Capito was seeming increasingly less likely, the White House said Biden told Capito that he would “continue to engage a number of Senators in both parties in the hopes of achieving a more substantial package.”
For weeks, the president has been engaged in talks with GOP senators trying to strike a compromise on Biden’s top legislative a priority, the big infrastructure investment package. While the two sides appear to have narrowed the price gap between his initial $2.3 trillion proposal and the GOP’s $568 billion opening bid, they remain far apart on the scope of the deal and how to pay for it.
Biden wants to raise corporate taxes to generate revenues for the infrastructure investments, a nonstarter for Republicans. The GOP senators propose tapping unspent COVID-19 relief aid to pay for the roads, bridges and other projects, an idea rejected by Democrats.
Earlier in the day, after the release of a modest May jobs report, Biden made the case for his robust investment package to push the economy past the COVID-19 crisis and downturn, and into a new era.
“Now is the time to build on the progress we’ve made,” Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Del. “We need to make those investments today to continue to succeed tomorrow.”
After returning to the White House, Biden spoke with Capito by telephone. The White House had been eyeing a deadline early next week as Congress returns from its Memorial Day break to see progress toward a deal. Meanwhile, Democrats are setting the ground work for a go-it-alone approach.