Tester says 100 percent of reconciliation package must be paid for thehill.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehill.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“I think there’s ways to do that. Hopefully it won’t be smoke and mirrors. Bottom line, this is probably the toughest part about this from my perspective, is how you get a pay-for,” he said, referring to finding a way to offset the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars in new infrastructure spending without raising taxes.
Many Democrats, including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden
Jayapal argues the more time spent on bipartisan negotiations means the longer Congress will go without passing a significant infrastructure investment bill.
“Every day that is wasted trying to get Republicans on board is another day that people can’t go back to work because they don’t have child care; another day without investing in millions of good, union jobs, another day that we lose further ground on the climate crisis,” she said. “Further delays jeopardize momentum and allow Republicans to block progress for the American people with no end in sight.”
The group is expected to be looking at a proposal of around $900 billion, but they ve been careful not to publicly release a number, saying the level of spending isn t yet locked in. Biden s initial infrastructure proposal exceeded $2.2 trillion.
The red line on taxes comes after the bipartisan group met Tuesday night in a Senate basement office as they try to craft a bipartisan infrastructure deal.
ADVERTISEMENT We made a lot of good progress. . We went through line by line and we ve got pretty good agreement on most of those components, Romney told reporters after the late-night meeting.
Members of the group are also haggling over how to pay for their bill, which has been a perennial sticking point in infrastructure talks.
A bipartisan group of House moderates on Wednesday unveiled an eight-year, $1.25 trillion infrastructure plan designed to help break the months-long impasse over President Biden
The framework offered by the 58-member Problem Solvers Caucus calls for more than $959 billion for traditional infrastructure, including highways, bridges, rail, airports and waterways; $25 billion of that money would be set aside for electric vehicle infrastructure, including electric buses.
The plan also calls for $74 billion for drinking water and wastewater systems; $71 billion for the electric grid and clean-energy programs; $45 billion for broadband; and $10 billion for veterans’ housing.
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In the coming days, the group 29 Democrats and 29 Republicans will offer proposals for how to pay for the package but it is not backing tax increases that Biden and progressives want, sources said. About $762 billion of the package represents new spending.