Senior White House officials met twice with a bipartisan group of senators Wednesday to discuss the framework of a massive infrastructure bill and made enough progress to warrant another meeting Thursday at the White House.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is part of the bipartisan group, told reporters after one of the meetings that there is a “framework of agreement on a bipartisan infrastructure package.” She warned that there are still details to be worked out.
The group would not go into specifics about what was discussed but an earlier framework called for a $953 billion infrastructure plan, with about $559 billion in new spending. The tentative framework dipped by $20 billion after a shift in funds for broadband internet, a person familiar with the proposal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press.
The president in March outlined a $2.3 trillion plan to re-engineer the nation’s infrastructure in what he billed as “a once-in-a-generation investment in America”
Biden also described it as part of his effort to compete with China. Republicans bristled at the idea to pay for the bill by increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. Progressives want Biden to go bold and urged the passage of comprehensive legislation with just Democrat support by way of budget reconciliation.
