Part of Biden’s plan is most ripe for bilateral support and could be broken down into a separate bill. The land transport section – roads, bridges and the like – could receive GOP support. This would be necessary because it contains elements that are not eligible for the accelerated budgetary vote process, where the legislature can only pass the Senate by democratic votes.
In an effort to do business, Democrats and Republicans in the House are encouraging the use of ear tags, special projects in member’s districts that can be included in expense packages. House members can begin formally submitting their local or other project proposals on Thursday, each of which must be publicly released.
The climate initiatives in Biden’s plan, which are important to progressive Democrats, are not going to get much, if any, Republican support and are unsuitable for reconciliation.
But Missouri MP Sam Graves, the top Republican on the House’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee, revised a statement Wednesday warning: “Republicans couldn’t support an ‘infrastructure’ bill, which is actually a climate change bill is that doesn’t focus on major transportation and infrastructure needs. “
In a subsequent, more conciliatory statement, he said that “our country desperately needs Congress to find common ground to make smart and responsible investments in our infrastructure,” and Biden’s proposal is “just the beginning of the process.”
“I hope the focus will be on proposals that can actually be supported by both parties,” he added.
West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the senior Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, was part of the stimulus meeting with Biden in February and said last week she would “try” to work with Democrats. However, she expressed skepticism about his infrastructure plan and suggested that it would cost her government coal jobs.
“President Biden’s so-called ‘job’ proposal is a clear attempt to transform the economy by advancing progressive priorities in unprecedented ways,” she said in a statement. “The proposal would aggressively reduce the use of traditional energy resources and eliminate well-paying jobs in West Virginia and across the country.”
She added that the corporate tax hikes would “weigh on” the economy as it recovers from the pandemic.
Republican opposition to tax hikes means that part of the Biden plan will most likely need to be included in a reconciliation bill, which will also be used for Biden’s incentives. The multi-stage process of drawing up this law provides that the legislature predicts completion in September or October.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is investigating whether Senate rules would allow him to push up to three reconciliation laws this year and next.
The budget process will be difficult because of moderate Democrats ‘skepticism about tax hikes and progressives’ calls for a larger bill. Pelosi can only lose four votes in the House, and a single Democratic defect can cut the bill in the 50-50 Senate if all Republicans are against it.
Three Northeastern Democrats in the House of Representatives have already called for an end to a cap on state and local tax deductions in Trump’s tax law for 2017 as the price of their vote.