President Joseph Biden is meeting with Congressional members of both parties in an effort to secure the passage of his historic $2.7 trillion infrastructure legislation.
In proposing his bill, the President said that he wanted to focus not only on the construction and upgrading of the nation’s roads, highways, and bridges, but also electric vehicle research, affordable housing, and broadband infrastructure.
“I am prepared to compromise, prepared to see what we can do, what we get together on,” Biden remarked to reporters before meeting with a group of lawmakers.
Some lawmakers have suggested that a more acceptable infrastructure plan would see the spending of up to $800 billion to be entirely focused on just infrastructure matters.
Texas Senator John Cornyn, in an appearance on the program Fox News Sunday, remarked: “There is a core infrastructure bill that we could pass with appropriate pay-fors like roads and bridges and even reaching out to broadband.”
“I think,” continued Cornyn, “that’s the part we can agree on.”
But Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski has said that even if a more targeted $800 billion infrastructure bill is ultimately presented in Congress, it would still be up to legislators to ask “How would we pare it down? How would we define it? How would we pay for it?”
Officially called the American Jobs Plan, Biden’s infrastructure bill includes $590 billion for job training and the modernization of supply chains; $50 billion for semiconductor manufacturing and research; and $20 billion for the establishment of regional innovation hubs, among other things.
New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich has praised the proposal for including $5 billion in what is called a Rural Partnership Program. “This program will empower Tribal communities by supporting locally led planning and capacity building efforts and providing flexible funding to meet critical needs.”
According to the White House, the President’s legislative affairs team has made around 140 calls to Congressional members and their top staffers in recent days. Members of the President’s cabinet have also talked to more than two dozen members on the bill.
By Garry Boulard
