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Initially, 11 Republicans approved a snapshot of the plan, which proposed pumping out nearly $ 600 billion in new spending for “hard” infrastructure and costing a total of $ 1.2 trillion over the next eight years. Getting the bill through the Senate would require at least 10 Republicans to back the measure – assuming all 50 Democratic caucus members remain united, which is also highly uncertain.
Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican running for re-election next year, said he was “concerned” about President Nancy Pelosi’s plans to suspend House votes on a bipartisan agreement until that the Senate approve the Democratic bill only, which could be approved by just 51 votes as it would have to go through the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process.
“I’m not there yet,” Moran said Monday night. “I’m still interested in working to see if we can come up with a quality bipartite infrastructure plan. I want to be involved in this engagement and effort. But I’m still troubled by President Pelosi’s statements.… It doesn’t It doesn’t It doesn’t doesn’t seem like the right kind of negotiating tactic to say, “Yes, I will support a bipartisan plan, as long as I get a vote on whatever I want.”
The comments highlight the delicate task facing Democratic leaders in realizing about $ 4 trillion from Biden’s program to make huge investments in the country’s infrastructure and extend the social safety net. An influential contingent of moderate Democrats have said they will not support a large, all-Democratic bill without first trying to come up with a bipartisan bill. Yet a vocal bloc of liberals refuses to support a narrow, bipartisan bill without committing to the larger bill passing.
Pelosi therefore drew a firm line at the end of last month: “There will be no bipartisan bill unless we have a reconciliation bill.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has yet to take a position on the bipartisan deal, has sharply criticized the Democrats’ tactics. And Republicans believe that if he urges his colleagues to vote against the bipartisan agreement, it may ultimately collapse.
“What President Pelosi is doing I can’t control, but they might not get anything if they start putting conditions on it,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota who also approved the bipartite framework.
Of the 11 Republican senators who announced they supported a bipartisan infrastructure framework in June, a number say they have serious concerns about whether their proposal could be held hostage until Democrats are completing their own party line bill that will include massive revisions to social policy on child care and sick leave and an extension of the enhanced child tax credit. This bill is expected to make sweeping changes to the tax code on the personal and business side and increase the corporate tax rate.
Republicans said tying the two proposals was not part of the deal and additional comments from Democrats like Pelosi in the House and even the president were not helpful in trying to sell the proposal to their GOP colleagues. .
“Things are changing,” Sen. Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana who will face voters next year and who is one of 11 GOP supporters, said Monday. “This is where the president needs to show leadership.”
Beyond the process, several of the GOP senators who backed the original plan said on Monday there were real concerns about how the bill would be paid – including a controversial provision to strengthen enforcement of collection of taxes by the IRS.
“No. No, no, no. I’m not committed or fully guaranteed on this,” Rounds said. “I want to support it, but I will also wait and see the final product, but I hope it works.”
Moran added, “I think there must be restraints on the use of these IRS agents. So we are looking at that. This payment has red flags among Republicans.”
Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina who has signed on to the framework, has made it clear he needs to learn more when the language is finalized and the official non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimate is released before it is released. does not commit to vote for it.
“Payments are always a function of a little fuzzy math. So we’ll see,” the outgoing GOP senator said on Monday.
Burr added: “We haven’t negotiated the final language. Until that is negotiated, there is no agreement yet.”
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who also endorsed the plan but voiced concerns about Democrats’ tactics, said, “We don’t have enough pay” to fund the entire program.
“There are a lot of outstanding issues”
After a two-week absence during the July 4 recess, the bipartisan group is set to meet again on Tuesday, which members and assistants say will be an opportunity to try and work out key details of the bill and to give them a chance to try to reunite. after the group’s unity has been put to the test in recent weeks.
“We’re going to have to put in the time and energy to deal with all the outstanding issues, and there are a lot of outstanding issues,” said Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah who is one of leaders of the bipartisan party. effort. “This is a major bill, which deals with the work of many committees, so I cannot predict how long it will take.”
During the break, staff worked to try to turn the bipartisan group cadre into legislation, but that work is still not done, according to lawmakers.
Some of the bipartisan group’s ideas for paying for investments in roads and bridges – like public-private partnerships – have been questioned as real income generators. The group’s idea of giving the IRS extra money to prosecute people who don’t pay what they owe in taxes has been criticized by outside conservative groups. The fear among some Republicans is that if the bipartisan proposal costs too much and is not compensated enough, it will drain the GOP votes.
Some of McConnell’s top MPs have sounded harsh on the proposal.
“My concern is that we borrowed a lot of money during the Covid crisis and we should no longer be borrowing for non-urgent items to pay for it,” said Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican member of the team. of McConnell’s leadership.
Asked about the bipartisan group’s vow to fully fund the plan, including redirecting relief money from Covid-19, Cornyn said: “There is a big hole to be filled, and what I’ve seen so far at present does not indicate that they have been filled there. ”
Senator John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota who is the minority whip, said funding for the measure was ultimately going to be the key factor.
“There are still a lot of unresolved questions,” Thune said, referring to efforts to find cost offsets for the bill. “Details on this.”
CNN’s Morgan Rimmer and Ali Main contributed to this report.
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