President Joe Biden Monday hosted his second infrastructure meeting with bipartisan lawmakers to discuss the American Jobs Plan with a focus on broadband investment. The event occurred as GOP lawmakers push to shrink the president’s more than $2 trillion plan.
The meeting included some of Capitol Hill’s former mayors and governors, including Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), John Hoeven (R-ND) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). “These former state and local elected officials understand firsthand the impact of a federal investment in rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure on their communities,” the White House said.
The meeting is significant because of the push and pull behind the scenes over where exactly Biden should invest the $100 billion his infrastructure plan would set aside for broadband, noted Politico. The White House wants to prioritize funneling money into “government-run or nonprofit networks,” much to the dismay of the largest telecoms and cablecos, according to the account. One industry representative said there’s been ongoing conversations with telecom-friendly lawmakers about how to ensure that some of the money goes toward investing in 5G.
Biden aims to approve a package in the coming months that revamps U.S. roads, bridges, airports, broadband, housing and utilities, and invests in job training along with care for elderly and disabled Americans. Republicans have signaled they could support a scaled-back bill based around transportation, broadband and water systems, CNBC reported.
The president has said he wants to craft a bipartisan bill, but Democrats would move to pass legislation on their own through budget reconciliation if they fail to strike a deal with the GOP. As the parties have disparate visions of what qualifies as infrastructure and how big of a role the government should take in the process, it’s unclear what could win support from both Democrats and Republicans.
“I am prepared to compromise, prepared to see what we can do, what we get together on,” Biden told reporters before the meeting. Both sides, however, stand about $1 trillion apart.
Last week, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), told CNBC she considers a $600 billion to $800 billion infrastructure plan a “sweet spot” that could win support from both parties. She told reporters Thursday that Republicans expect to outline an infrastructure proposal of their own.
Agreeing on what counts as infrastructure could trip up talks, according to CNBC. Roger Wicker (R-MS), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, met with Biden last week. He said Thursday that he wants to see a bill based around the “30 percent of the president’s proposal that is actually infrastructure.”
It’s unclear how much Biden and congressional Democrats would agree to cut from the plan to win GOP support. Wicker said he thinks the infrastructure bill could be bipartisan. “I’m optimistic, I’m hopeful, I’m looking on the bright side,” he said.
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