Senate GOP threatens to block vote on bipartisan infrastructure deal if talks fail

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“We have to see the bill before we vote to go for it,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said. “I think it’s pretty easy to understand.”

South Dakota Republican Whip John Thune told reporters on Monday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was making a major mistake if he went ahead with a key test vote on the plan.

“I can’t say we’ll have all Republicans, but he won’t have 60,” Thune warned.

Schumer, a Democrat from New York, held a test vote on the legislation, which does not yet exist, on Wednesday to encourage Republican and Democratic negotiators to draft it. Schumer said Monday that if senators do not draft it by Thursday, he will propose a bill made up of relatively uncontroversial provisions, so the Senate can begin debate on a key priority for the Biden administration.

“I understand that both sides are working very hard to transform the bipartite infrastructure framework into final legislation, and they will continue to have more time to debate, amend and refine the bill once the Senate votes to address this. crucial question, ”Schumer said. “But they have been working on this bipartisan framework for over a month now, and it is time to open the debate.”

In June, the White House and a bipartisan Senate group agreed to a $ 579 billion framework to build roads, bridges, railroads and airports, as well as water infrastructure projects, electricity and broadband.

But lawmakers have since wrestled with how to pay for the massive investment and made their job even more difficult by agreeing to remove a provision that would have bolstered the Internal Revenue Service’s ability to collect unpaid taxes, which would have allowed to collect up to $ 100 billion. in government revenue. Biparty infrastructure talks will continue Monday night on Zoom, multiple sources told CNN.

Republicans criticized Schumer for preparing for the procedural vote on Wednesday and argued he was trying to undermine negotiations. They are particularly reluctant to vote to move a bill forward before the Congressional Budget Office determines how much it would add to US debt.

A GOP source with knowledge of the negotiations said Republican senators had made a direct appeal to the White House to urge Schumer to reconsider his plans, as they made it clear publicly that they needed more time.

“We’re going to have a hard time being ready to vote,” said Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. “I don’t want us to lose the momentum and just the energy that we’ve built.”

“If we don’t have an agreement on a bill, I have a hard time understanding why we would proceed with a bill,” added GOP Senator Mitt Romney of Utah.

Negotiators are even divided on the distance between them. West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said he was confident Monday they could quickly address concerns about how to foot the bill ahead of the vote.

Schumer's negotiators on infrastructure and budget deal inspiring Republican revolt

“We should have done it tonight,” Manchin said.

But Sen. Rob Portman, the main Republican negotiator in the talks, said there were still more than a dozen issues to be addressed, and argued the group had not had enough time to negotiate a deal. . He suggested that the Senate should not vote on it until they do.

Portman said he wasn’t sure how much longer the squad would need more, but said they were “at a sprinter’s pace given the importance of that.” He said he was on Zoom calls with Democrats and Republicans until 10:15 p.m. ET Sunday night and began meetings at 7 a.m. ET Monday with members and the CBO.

“We are working as hard as possible,” he said. “I cannot imagine that we will have a closing vote on something that is not yet done. I mean, what are we going to do the closing vote on? “

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn said he would oppose Wednesday’s vote and asserted that there would not be 10 Republicans to join the 50 Democrats to start debate on the bill unless that an agreement is not reached.

“I don’t think they’re going to get there,” Cornyn said. “Even the bipartisan negotiators say they are not ready and it really is an arbitrary deadline.”

Schumer brushed aside Republicans’ concerns. He said on Thursday: “There is no reason why we cannot start voting next Wednesday, and that is what we are going to do.”

Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester agreed Wednesday’s vote should take place.

“Yeah, I think that puts pressure on us to do things,” Tester said.

Democrats have set up two-way negotiations to comprehensively address the country’s infrastructure needs. The first concerns the new bipartite plan. The second is a $ 3.5 trillion Democratic bill that would include other priorities that many Republicans oppose, such as providing paid medical and family leave and potentially even overhauling the country’s immigration system. country.

But some Democrats balked at the price of the Democrats’ bill.

Manchin declined to say on Monday whether he was comfortable with the huge figure.

“I’m just trying to get more information tonight,” he said.

This story was updated with additional developments on Monday.

CNN’s Ali Zaslav and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

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