Biden gets serious about an infrastructure deal
President Joe Biden seems like he might be serious about striking a bipartisan infrastructure deal. He is reportedly willing to come down to $1 trillion in new spending on the package and at least temporarily shelve his plans to raise the corporate tax rate to 28 percent in order to pay for it. Republicans have balked at the tax hike and their counteroffer clocks in at $928 billion, though with only $250 billion in new spending the two sides remain far apart.
Still, this is further than Biden went in the aborted talks to find a stimulus compromise earlier this year. After some perfunctatory negotiations with Republicans, Democrats ended up passing the $1.9 trillion bill along straight party lines. On this issue as well, the two sides began hundreds of billions of dollars apart, in total disagreement over how to pay for it, and adhering even to different definitions of what constitutes "infrastructure" in the first place. Yet they're still talking.
The Senate parliamentarian may have kept the lines open. Democrats will only be able to use reconciliation, a budgetary tool that allows them to bypass the filibuster and therefore Republican votes, once this year. Unlike other things Biden wants to do, infrastructure is something that could get Republican votes. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the West Virginian leading the negotiations on the GOP side, appears to want a bill.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There are still plenty of obstacles to a compromise. One of them is the progressive wing of Biden's own party. To them, the White House's initial proposal was the compromise. They would prefer that Biden go it alone rather than tax and spend less. They believe he can capitalize on unified Democratic control and with the midterm elections fast approaching — the party's majorities are razor-thin — it is unclear when the opportunity will arise again.
Part of this is a dilemma of Biden's own making. He ran simultaneously as a bipartisan deal-maker, in order to win the suburbs, and a progressive, to coax Bernie Sanders voters to the polls. It is hard to deliver on both.
Biden's bet is that liberals won't actually block a slimmer infrastructure package if he can get the Republicans to agree to one. And if he can't get it done with the GOP, the left is still ready to turn on the federal spending spigots and Democrats own infrastructure in the midterms. Infrastructure Week, indeed.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 16, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - sleepyhead, little people, and more
By The Week US Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Why are Republicans trying to change Nebraska's Electoral College vote?
Today's Big Question It's a chance for Donald Trump to block Joe Biden's path to re-election
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
To win the election, Trump is changing how elections are run
Under The Radar While the former president campaigns for a second term in office, he and his team have quietly been working to tilt the nation's electoral rules in his favor.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Is it time to end arms sales to Israel?
Today's Big Question Democrats urge restrictions following World Kitchen convoy deaths
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'What a difference a judge makes'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'For employers and their workers, welcome to a minefield'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Biden pitches student loan forgiveness for millions
Speed Read The latest relief plan would benefit nearly 30 million borrowers
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published