President Biden struck an infrastructure deal on Thursday with a bipartisan group of senators. He signed on to their plan to provide roughly $579 billion in new investments in roads, broadband internet, electric utilities and other projects in hopes of moving a crucial piece of his economic agenda through Congress.
“We have a deal,” Biden said outside the White House, standing beside a group of Republicans and Democrats after a meeting in the Oval Office where they outlined their proposal. “I think it’s really important we’ve all agreed that none of us got all that we wanted.”
The New York Times reported that Biden’s endorsement marked a breakthrough in his efforts to forge an infrastructure compromise. However, it’s not a guarantee the package will be enacted.
Top Democrats made it clear that the plan, which comprises a fraction of the $4 trillion economic proposal the president put forth, can only move in tandem with a larger package of spending and tax increases that Democrats are planning to try to push through Congress unilaterally, over GOP opposition.
“This does represent a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure,” said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). She helped spearhead the talks that led to the agreement.
Many details of the framework, including how much would be spent on broadband deployment, have yet to be laid out. Politico reported the latest proposal reduced the figure to $45 billion, down from the $60 billion the White House previously proposed and the original $100 billion.
“We’ve agreed on the price tag, the scope, and how to pay for it,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
Reader Interactions