“Far from $ 2.5 trillion,” added Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). Until the Republicans realize that the needs are much, much greater than what they propose, I don’t know if we’ll get much further. I hope so … but we won’t wait forever. “
Senator Shelley Moore Capito (RW.Va.) is preparing to unveil a proposal with other deal-seeking Republicans in the coming days and briefed the Senate Republican Conference on her ideas on Tuesday. The proposal is expected to be approximately $ 600 to $ 800 billion for roads, bridges, and broadband over several years, and will be paid for with transportation user fees and unspent coronavirus relief funds.
Capito acknowledged that her proposal is not going anywhere with the Democratic majority, but asked for room to do her job and keep the two-pronged talks with the White House going.
“Can we tune the rhetoric down here a little bit and really try and get something done?” Capito said Wednesday. ‘I understand disagreement, but I’ve read that we’re trying to slow it down and not let it happen. Or be too cheap? We are talking about a very robust package here. Can we get rid of the prejudices? “
She is part of a separate group of bipartisan lawmakers that meet for lunch on Wednesday and are expected to discuss the proposal by then. The bill comes because Senate Democrats, including Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), A close ally of Biden, have proposed splitting Biden’s infrastructure proposal into two bills: one that can be passed with bipartisan support and the second with just democratic support.
“I’m just saying it’s a Republican bill, I never thought that, I never heard that,” said Senator Joe Manchin (DW.Va.), who is part of the group of 20 lawmakers. He said the group would still try to work together, despite the possibility of the GOP submitting its own proposal.
In a bipartisan meeting with members of Congress on Monday, Biden told Republicans to come back with their own offer by May. But while members of both parties insist they prefer a dual product, how to pay for it remains the main obstacle to reaching a final agreement.
Biden’s proposal would increase the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, which Senate Republicans oppose. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Another of Biden’s ally, said a significant amount of income should come from the tax bill. Without corporate tax increases, he warned, “we won’t get the kind of income we need.”
And they need that kind of income to spend the kind of money that the Democrats say is necessary, because most Democrats are uncomfortable with another round of deficit spending.
“We’ve been under-spending for generations. And it can be seen in our airports, on our roads, in our public transportation, on our train, ”said Warren. “The Republicans are not ready to make the investments we need.”
If talks with Republicans fail, Democrats can pass an infrastructure bill with their 50 members and Vice President Kamala Harris’s decisive vote through budget reconciliation. That way, they could pass a much larger bill with major tax changes, with some restrictions.
Meanwhile, Republicans are figuring out ways to get around the red lines the Democrats have committed to, including Biden’s pledge not to impose taxes on Americans who earn less than $ 400,000 a year.
“Paying tolls at a bridge is not a tax for people earning less than $ 400,000 a year,” said Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah. And there are more. If you are going to build airports, the landing costs at the airport can be adjusted. So there are ways to generate revenue without violating the president’s promise. “
Sam Mintz contributed to this report.