For the second week in a row, President Joe Biden hosted a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers to search for an agreement on a major infrastructure bill.
“We had a good opportunity to present our views,” Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who attended Monday’s White House meeting, told reporters.
Ten lawmakers attended the meeting, and each was provided with an opportunity to talk. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also attended.
“And the president spoke about his plan, what he hoped to accomplish with it,” Romney said. “But he was in listening mode and was gracious to solicit our respective points of view. “
BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE DEAL FACES BIG HURDLES
The bipartisan talks so far have done little to advance a deal.
At the White House, Republicans repeated their desire to use existing funding to help pay for new infrastructure.
The most recent coronavirus aid bill, for example, includes $40 billion for broadband that Republicans believe should be enough to address that aspect of an infrastructure bill.
Other Republican lawmakers want to use existing legislative pipelines to address infrastructure, including a water resources measure.
But Democrats want a comprehensive bill that is broad in scope and costs trillions.
Biden’s proposal would cost $2.3 trillion and would be offset with corporate tax and estate tax increases. At the meeting, Biden showed little interest in lowering his corporate tax increase proposal, lawmakers said. Biden is proposing a hike in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, which Republicans say will damage the economy and kill jobs.
Republicans also favor a narrower bill dedicated to traditional infrastructure projects and not green energy initiatives and other liberal wish list items included in the Biden plan.
“It was a cordial meeting, and everybody put their cards on the table,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican, said after the meeting. “The Republicans in the room wanted to see a more directed infrastructure package more toward what we know as infrastructure.”
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At the start of the meeting, Biden told lawmakers that he’s “prepared to compromise” on a bill, adding, “It’s a big package, but there are a lot of needs.”
