Senate GOP unveils $928 billion infrastructure counteroffer that's largely funded by Biden stimulus money
- A group of Senate Republicans introduced a $928 billion infrastructure counteroffer to Biden.
- But only a quarter of it appears to be new spending beyond what Congress has already authorized.
- It's unlikely to satisfy Democrats and the White House. A top progressive said it had a "loser-y" idea.
Senate Republicans on Thursday made a $928 billion infrastructure counteroffer to the White House that would only modestly increase new federal spending compared with what the Biden administration is seeking.
GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia has spearheaded the working group, which includes Republicans Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, Roy Blunt of Missouri, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
"Senate Republicans continue to negotiate in good faith," Capito said at a news conference. "We're trying to reach that common goal of a bipartisan infrastructure plan."
The new plan includes the following provisions, largely concentrated on physical infrastructure:
- $506 billion for roads and bridges
- $98 billion for public transit systems
- $72 billion for water systems
- $65 billion for broadband
- $56 billion for airports
- $46 billion for passenger and freight rail
- $22 billion for ports and waterways
It also includes federal money for water storage and safety.
But the offer is unlikely to satisfy the Biden administration and congressional Democrats because only about a quarter of it - $257 billion - is new government spending beyond what Congress has already authorized. The GOP's past proposal to the administration featured $225 billion in new spending, the White House said.
Capito and her GOP group envision repurposing stimulus money from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief law to finance infrastructure upgrades. The White House has panned that possibility in recent days.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a key progressive, strongly criticized the GOP plan in an MSNBC interview, saying it had a "loser-y" idea to redirect federal money already devoted to other sectors of the economy.
Democrats are pressing to merge into their economic plans what they view as human infrastructure, including new domestic initiatives in healthcare and education and an expansion of the safety net.
Both sides have clashed on the size and scope of an infrastructure plan, and the latest GOP offer is unlikely to resolve their differences. They still sharply disagree on how to finance it; Democrats want to roll back the 2017 tax law and raise corporate taxes, a red line for the GOP.
The White House put $1.7 trillion in new spending on the table during the negotiations, now in their third week. The offer was a $500 billion reduction from the $2.3 trillion package introduced last month, though some of that funding was moved to other bills in Congress.
That proposal includes new money for roads and bridges, broadband, domestic manufacturing, and in-home elder care, among a slew of other initiatives.