Law Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Signed into law 11/15/21

[oldshadow]

The Democrats can push this through Reconciliation fairly easily as it's a pure spending bill.

The most leverage the GOP has is trading votes to keep the corporate tax rate at 21%

Let them, then pick it apart and use it as a weapon.

 

[oldshadow]

Ideally, the idea would be to make things better for the country, but Republicans forgot how to think in those terms.

And under Trump the democrats lost their minds so now the Republicans should.be using the same game plan and raising the bar

 

[PolishHeadlock2]

Let them, then pick it apart and use it as a weapon.

Lol the more likely scenarios is that GOP Senators will brag to their constituents about the benefits of the infrastructure plan they voted against.... just like with the stimulus

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/no...vid-relief-law-they-voted-against-2021-05-27/

CLEVELAND, May 27 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Thursday chided Republican lawmakers who voted against his $1.9 trillion economic stimulus and COVID-19 relief bill before lauding its benefits in their political districts.

Speaking at an event in Ohio, Biden drew laughter from the crowd when he held up a list with names of Republican lawmakers who he said had touted the law, called the American Rescue Plan, after it was passed with only Democratic support.

"Even my Republican friends in Congress, not a single one of them voted for the Rescue Plan. I'm not going to embarrass any one of them, but I have here a list of how back in their districts they're bragging about the Rescue Plan," Biden said to laughter. "Some people have no shame."

 

[Jack V Savage]

And under Trump the democrats lost their minds so now the Republicans should.be using the same game plan and raising the bar

But that's not really true. Democrats then and now are trying to make things better. You're arguing that Republicans should try to hurt the country because Democrats opposed corruption (and note that they still worked with him on many key issues).

 

[PolishHeadlock2]

And under Trump the democrats lost their minds so now the Republicans should.be using the same game plan and raising the bar

The Democrat's literally tried to pass an unprecedented spending bill with giant checks in the month leading up to the election that Trump could have tried to taken full credit for but Mitch McConnell shut it down lol

 

[Madmick]

Already was expected but Sanders opposes the deal


Sanders won't vote for bipartisan infrastructure deal
The Hill


Looking at some of the other Senators responses, I’m skeptical this has 50 votes even if Schumer puts it on the floor. GOP (like Scott) doesn’t like the gas tax increase. Dems (Like Casey) don’t like the huge drop in spending and narrowing it to just infrastructure.

Dems don't like infrastructure bills that spend on infrastructure.

 

[Lead]

Dems don't like infrastructure bills that spend on infrastructure.

It’s going to be a tug of war between the farther left trying to push through everything together in one bill without the GOP or getting to a infrastructure only bill with bipartisan approval. I still think whichever path collapses first is going to give more weight the the other. In other words, if they go the reconciliation route and it fails, you are left with the bipartisan path or if that plan were to fall through before reconciliation is attempted, much more pressure is on Dems to get it through on 50 votes.
Haven’t posted it yet but it looks like Schumer will put the bipartisan bill to a vote in July so it’s another big deal he isn’t blocking it from a vote.

 

[Lead]

Seems like it's a range with 6T being the highest but the reconciliation talks don't appear to be sticking the the 2.2T plan. I don't know what the additional spending is yet:

Democrats Float $6 Trillion Plan Amid Talks on Narrower Infrastructure Deal
New York Times

Senate Democrats have begun privately weighing a sprawling economic package that could be as large as $6 trillion even as a bipartisan group of senators works to draw support for a much narrower infrastructure plan that would devote $579 billion in new money to fund physical public works projects.


The details of both plans remain in flux, as lawmakers work to maneuver some, if not all, of President Biden’s economic agenda around the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate and past razor-thin margins in the House. For now, the divergent efforts are proceeding in parallel, with centrist senators in both parties pushing forward on their compromise proposal and Democrats preparing to use the fast-track budget process known as reconciliation to avoid a Republican filibuster of their far larger plan.

“The truth is both tracks are moving forward very well, and both tracks need each other,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader. “We want to work with our Republican colleagues on infrastructure where we have common ground, and Democrats believe we have other priorities that the Senate must consider above and beyond a bipartisan infrastructure bill.”

Schumer mentioned the bipartisan bill around 1T likely would be voted on in July

Schumer hopes for July vote for bipartisan infrastructure bill
Reuters

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday he hoped to have a July vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill, but a second measure would be needed to incorporate climate and human infrastructure measures.

The top Senate Democrat told reporters there are many in his caucus who think the bipartisan proposal is a good start but does not do enough.

Democrats and Republicans in the 50-50 split Senate have been negotiating behind the scenes on a potential $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, with slightly more than half of that plan consisting of new funding. The rest would come from already approved money for COVID-19 relief and other programs.

But President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats in Congress want a much larger effort that not only invests in traditional infrastructure such as road and bridge-building, but in significantly reducing carbon emissions and helping the elderly and others receive home healthcare.


"In order to move forward on infrastructure, we must include bold action on climate," Schumer told reporters.

 

[Lead]

Looks like the spike likely is Medicare expansion

Democrats discussed potentially including measures to expand Medicare, including lowering the eligibility age to 60 and expanding benefits for all beneficiaries to cover dental, hearing and vision care, according to three of the people, who disclosed details on condition of anonymity because they were still in flux. Broadening Medicare has long been a priority of Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent and chairman of the Budget Committee.

It's also important to keep in mind the 6T is the highest range. Since this is in the context of reconciliation, it would be a negotiation with mainly the democrat senators so the 6T is what the farthest end of the party is bringing into the picture initially. It's likely that goes down but hard to say if the number still ends up higher than 2.2T.

 

[blaseblah]

It’s going to be a tug of war between the farther left trying to push through everything together in one bill without the GOP or getting to a infrastructure only bill with bipartisan approval. I still think whichever path collapses first is going to give more weight the the other. In other words, if they go the reconciliation route and it fails, you are left with the bipartisan path or if that plan were to fall through before reconciliation is attempted, much more pressure is on Dems to get it through on 50 votes.
Haven’t posted it yet but it looks like Schumer will put the bipartisan bill to a vote in July so it’s another big deal he isn’t blocking it from a vote.

The climate change action is an important part of the bill that Republicans won't vote for. The question is whether they can get Manchin to vote for that stuff in a separate bill or if they need to include it in the infrastructure bill.

Dems don't like infrastructure bills that spend on infrastructure.

Don't kid yourself. At best only 1 to 10 Republicans are going to vote for the "bipartisan" bill, regardless of what is in it.

 

[Lead]

The climate change action is an important part of the bill that Republicans won't vote for. The question is whether they can get Manchin to vote for that stuff in a separate bill or if they need to include it in the infrastructure bill.



Don't kid yourself. At best only 1 to 10 Republicans are going to vote for the "bipartisan" bill, regardless of what is in it.

He voted on an energy bill a year ago that seemed surprising considering he’s representing WV. That isn’t to say he would on this but I wouldn’t immediately dismiss it.

11 GOP senators have approved the framework at the moment so that’s 2 out of 5 at the moment. They haven’t actually voted through and sometimes there a big different between what a senator says they support and what they end up voting for

 

[blaseblah]

He voted on an energy bill a year ago that seemed surprising considering he’s representing WV. That isn’t to say he would on this but I wouldn’t immediately dismiss it.

11 GOP senators have approved the framework at the moment so that’s 2 out of 5 at the moment. They haven’t actually voted through and sometimes there a big different between what a senator says they support and what they end up voting for

Big difference. Obama's ACA was developed with bipartisan support but Republicans turned on it and all voted against it in unison.

 

[Lead]

Big difference. Obama's ACA was developed with bipartisan support but Republicans turned on it and all voted against it in unison.

I don’t see these as direct comparisons but can see the suspicion that the GOP is just buying time. Kinda pointless though since they are doing the two track plan.

 

[Lead]

The snag with the bipartisan bill now appears to be the gas tax. Originally, I saw complaints with Rick Scott but Biden administration seems to not like the idea either. Bernie also didn’t like that form of funding either but has had more disagreements than just that.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Could Lose Gas-Tax Rise, Senator Says
The Wall Street Journal

A proposed infrastructure spending plan may be hammered out without a measure raising the gasoline tax, a key Republican lawmaker said Sunday, suggesting the removal of an obstacle to a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure plan pushed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio), one of the lead Republicans in the group, said a higher gasoline tax may not be in the final package, citing opposition from the Biden administration.

“But the administration, therefore, will need to come forward with some other ideas without raising taxes,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

With Biden’s return, the administration is expected to look over the plan more closely this week.

 

[PolishHeadlock2]

It's a shit deal

Time to go it alone via reconciliation

 

[Lead]

White House appears close to on board now and funding to cover the additional spending also agreed upon. At the moment, it’s Biden and 21 senators with a vote approaching in July. Thinking Schumer will support if Biden has.

Senators say deal reached on infrastructure proposal as bipartisan agenda faces make-or-break moment
CNN

Senators on both sides of the aisle said Wednesday evening there's an agreement with White House officials and 10 senators on a bipartisan infrastructure deal, with senators planning to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday to discuss it.

GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said it's fully paid for and offsets the new spending. The total cost is $1.2 trillion over eight years, with $579 billion in new spending.

"Everyone in that room agreed on the framework," Manchin said, telling CNN he expects the details will be released Thursday.

 

[PolishHeadlock2]

@Lead looks like they're going with the Bipartisan deal.....They better ram the rest of the American Family Plan through reconciliation

 

[PolishHeadlock2]

@Deorum your girl is putting her foot down

 

[PolishHeadlock2]

 

[DavidsGhost]

Biden Agrees to Bipartisan Group’s Infrastructure Plan, Saying ‘We Have a Deal’
Last Updated
June 24, 2021, 6:20 p.m. ET4 minutes ago
4 minutes ago
The plan is expected to increase federal spending by nearly $600 billion but leave many of President Biden’s economic proposals, including investments in child care and much of his climate agenda, for a future bill.


Link: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/24/us/joe-biden-news


This is a huge win for Biden. The fact that he compromised on so much, used a bipartisan party to offset stalling talks, and did it in good will, is a huge step forward for America after such a dismal and divisive four year.

*Insert apoplectic BDS responses

But Biden is tying this package to a separate package that includes the line items he "compromised" on - this all but negates the purpose of the bi-partisan spirit. I'm not even sure what the intention is here. Can someone explain?

Regardless, we need to pass this bill in the form in which the senators crafted it: we don't have time for petty political wins. If Democrats want to push something else, they need to try it on its own.