Senate Democrats will not have to court Republican votes on a Biden administration infrastructure package if they don’t want to, according to a friendly ruling from the chamber’s parliamentarian on Monday.
The $2.2 trillion plan aimed at rebuilding the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges, along with a swath of other policy changes, can go through the Senate with a bare majority of 51 votes, rather than the 60 that would otherwise be needed to overcome a Republican filibuster of legislation.
That’s because Democrats are angling to pass the infrastructure measure through special Senate “reconciliation” rules, marking the second time in two months the majority party has used that procedure, after President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion spending plan aimed at combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Senate parliamentarian ruled in Democrats’ favor, according to a statement by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. If all 50 Senate Democrats plan back Biden’s infrastructure bill, they can pass it with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Schumer, in a statement, said Senate Democrats have made no decision on how to proceed but praised the ruling as “an important step forward that that this key pathway forward is available if needed.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki and other White House officials contend Biden is “open” to hearing Republican ideas on changing his sprawling plan, saying he prefers a bipartisan measure.
But again on Monday, Psaki gave reporters no indication Biden would oppose using only Democratic votes in both chambers to pass the infrastructure bill.
The parties remain starkly divided on the notion of what an infrastructure package should look like. Republicans say that to win their support, a bill would need to focus on traditional transportation needs such as fixing roads, bridges, and ports. Democrats have a more expansive view, with Biden’s bill calling for spending on high-speed 5G internet expansion and a range of environmental measures, including electric vehicles and charging stations.
Still, it’s unclear how much support Schumer and Democratic Senate leaders can count on at the moment, which will become a key calculation if they decide to go it alone on an infrastructure package.
Sen. Joe Manchin on Monday said it “needs to be changed.”
The West Virginia Democrat, a key vote in an evenly divided Senate, expressed concerns about the Biden administration package, dubbed the “American Jobs Plan,” particularly the accompanying framework raising the corporate tax rate, which he argued could harm businesses.
