[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congressional Republicans are making the politically brazen bet that it is more advantageous to oppose President Joe Biden’s ambitious America’s rebuilding program than to back the costly business of 2.3 trillions of dollars for roads, bridges and other infrastructure investments.
The way Republicans did not vote for the $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, they plan to stay on the sidelines of that next big White House elevator, forcing Democrats to take full ownership of the massive package of corporate spending and tax hikes. that Biden wants approved over the summer. Tension could rise this week as Biden shows no signs of adjusting to satisfy Republican leaders, instead directly calling on their constituents to support him.
“I think Republican voters will have a lot to say about whether we do a lot,” Biden told reporters in the White House.
This leaves Biden and the Republicans in Congress on a collision course, the outcome of which could define the parties and his presidency. The GOP’s strategy is reminiscent of the Obama-era blockade that helped embittered voters on the Democratic president more than a decade ago. Yesterday and today, Republicans intend to hold Democrats responsible for all future taxes and spending, just as they did in the 2009 bailout after the economic crisis, portraying it as an overshoot of the government piling up debt.
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell set the defining tone for his party when he emphatically said last week that he would fight Biden’s platform “every step of the way.”
But it is by no means certain that the GOP playbook that worked more than a decade ago will produce the same political gains this time around. Voters appear tired of the partisan stalemate in Washington, live amid run-down areas of the country, and report that they initially support Biden’s approach to rule, at least when it comes to the virus aid program.
A recent poll by the Associated Press-NORC Public Research Center found Americans have responded favorably to the president’s approach, with 73% approving his handling of the pandemic. This includes about half of Republicans.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., A member of the GOP Senate leadership, said on Sunday that a smaller package of around $ 615 billion, or 30% of what Biden is proposing, could find bipartisan support from the Republicans if the White House found a way to pay without raising the corporate tax rate. He pointed out the possible user fees for drivers and others.
“There is an easy win here,” Blunt said on “Fox News Sunday”.
Rather than fear a new era of great government, Democratic leaders in Congress are embracing it, believing they can bypass the GOP blockade on Capitol Hill and directly advocate for Americans hungry for investment in homes, communities. and livelihoods, especially in China and other rival countries are advancing.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi compared Biden’s plan to the lofty goals of presidents before him – from Thomas Jefferson’s efforts to build the Erie Canal to Teddy Roosevelt’s designs on a system of national parks.
“Today, in this century, President Biden is doing something in the tradition of thinking big,” Pelosi said at a press conference.
Progressives want Biden to grow even taller. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Said on Sunday he expects more funding to fight climate change and is working to include his own proposal to expand Medicare with dental care , visual and auditory for the elderly.
“Now is the time to start addressing our physical infrastructure and our human infrastructure,” Sanders told CNN.
As Congress struggles to begin drafting legislation related to Biden’s proposal, both sides will be put to the test.
In the House, lawmakers will be asked to submit applications for projects in their home districts – roads and other infrastructure that could be “allocations” eligible for federal funds. This is a way of attracting bipartisan participation and ensuring that funds are spent to meet agreed needs.
Republicans will be forced to participate or disengage, often under pressure from elected officials and other voters demanding funds to upgrade sewers, airports and countless other infrastructure systems.
Strewn across Kentucky with questions about money that could potentially flow for road, bridge and housing projects in the home state after the president unveiled his plan, McConnell pushed them back one by one.
Biden’s package “won’t get support from our side,” McConnell said.
Asked about McConnell’s comment, Biden smiled on Friday as he addressed reporters at the White House and asked if Republicans argue the country doesn’t need infrastructure – or if Republicans “ decide we need it but they won’t. pay for it? “
Biden also insisted that Republicans oppose cleaning lead pipes in homes, schools and daycares.
“What do you think would happen if they found out that all the lead pipes were in place at the Capitol?” Biden asked.
At the same time, Democrats and Republicans will face the politically difficult vote to raise corporate taxes to pay for all expenses, countering the business community which is largely against Biden’s plan to permanently raise the rate that companies pay 21% to 28%. .
Both parties see it as an almost existential battle over divergent political views: the Democrats who believe in the power of government to take the lead in solving the nation’s problems; Republicans who trust the private sector to find solutions.
On Capitol Hill, it’s also a battle over which party will control Congress.
After Barack Obama was elected in 2008, McConnell said his goal was to make him a term president. This time around, the Republican leader appears to have a shorter-term goal at hand – he wants to win back the now equally split 50-50 Senate.
“They’re so close to majority in 2022, they can taste it,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist.
Democrats have control of the Senate because their party’s vice president, Kamala Harris, can vote a tie. In the House, the Democratic majority is holding on with just a handful of seats.
“They really don’t want to give Biden wins,” Conant said.
Democrats, unsure of their political outlook, are taking no chances, legislating as if they were on borrowed time.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has launched a potential process that would allow Biden’s package to move forward without the typical 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the Republicans’ filibuster. Instead, it could be approved by a simple majority of 51 votes.
Pelosi has set a July 4 target for House votes, but acknowledges that an ambitious timetable could elapse.
“The sooner we can pass the legislation, the faster we can allocate resources,” she said.
The goal, she said, was “to get the job done as quickly as possible.”
[ad_2]
Source link