Senate negotiators scramble to defang GOP criticism
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White House digs in as infrastructure talks stall
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© Greg Nash
Senate Republicans on Tuesday discussed the outlines of a scaled-down infrastructure bill they say could pass the Democratic-led Congress with strong bipartisan support.
The entire Senate GOP conference during its weekly lunch meeting discussed the emerging proposal after getting a briefing from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito
Capito is leading negotiations among a smaller group of GOP moderates who met with President Biden
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They say it should be paid for with a combination of user fees, repurposing some of the $350 billion sent out to state and local governments in the American Rescue Plan and other revenue-raising measures. It’s unlikely Democrats will back these offsets.
Cruz touted the vote as a victory because no GOP senator tried to formally lift the ban.
“I think it was clear by the time we went into the room that the votes weren’t there,” Cruz said, guessing that two-thirds of the Senate conference wanted to keep the ban on earmarks.
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But he also acknowledged that a Republican senator could request an earmark despite the ban in the caucus rules.
“Can a member choose to act differently? Sure. Any individual member at the end of the day has to make the choice as to what are the obligations you owe to your constituents,” he said.