A bipartisan group of ten senators reached a deal on an infrastructure plan on Thursday to present to the Biden administration for further negotiations.
The plan includes about $579 billion in new spending and, including expected future spending, would cost $974 billion over five years or $1.2 trillion over eight years, multiple outlets reported. The ten senators said there would be no tax increases.
INBOX: Senators involved in the bipartisan group discussing infrastructure have reached a bipartisan agreement per statement. “This investment would be fully paid for and not include tax increases,” statement reads. pic.twitter.com/NTHZ6V7vsw
— Jack Turman III (@jackturmanIII) June 10, 2021
“Our group — comprised of 10 Senators, 5 from each party — has worked in good faith and reached a bipartisan agreement on a realistic, compromise framework to modernize our nation’s infrastructure and energy technologies. This investment would be fully paid for and not include tax increases,” the group said in a statement.
The group includes Republican senators Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy, and Rob Portman. Democrats in the group are Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin, Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Warner, and Jon Tester.
The announcement comes after President Biden cut off negotiations with Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va.) on an infrastructure plan. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden expressed “disappointment” that Republicans were not willing to raise their offer by more than $150 billion, after the president indicated he could reduce the plan by over $1 trillion.
Biden announced a roughly $2 trillion plan in April that would fund upgrades for highways, bridges, and other U.S. infrastructure as well as provide funding toward a national network of charging stations for electric vehicles. Republicans have opposed the price tag of the effort, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) warning against “whack[ing] the economy with major tax increases or run up the national debt even more.”
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