UPDATE A bipartisan group of lawmakers has crafted a $1.25 trillion infrastructure spending package. The group, which calls themselves the House Problem Solvers Caucus, unveiled the measure after talks collapsed this week between the White House and a group of GOP lawmakers led by West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito.
The Problem Solvers framework, however, includes less money for broadband internet access — $45 billion, compared to $65 billion in the last public offer Capito’s group made.
The new plan includes more than $761 billion in new spending over eight years. That Senate GOP group had offered a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure plan, roughly a third of which was new spending above the “baseline” amount the government would normally spend to sustain current infrastructure, reported Roll Call.
The caucus, which has 29 Democrats and 29 Republicans, has been working for the past two months to reach agreement on the scope of a bipartisan infrastructure package. Its infrastructure working group, led by Reps. Conor Lamb (D-PA), and John Katko (R-NY), put together the framework with input from the broader caucus.
In the coming days, the group will offer proposals for how to pay for the package but it is not backing tax increases that Biden and progressives want, sources told Roll Call. About $762 billion of the package represents new spending.
“It’s critically important that we get a robust infrastructure package signed into law, and that we do it with strong bipartisan support,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, said in a statement. “This is the model for how we should govern in Washington: Democrats and Republicans working together to find common ground.”
The impact of the Problem Solvers plan remains to be seen. The group played a major role in breaking the partisan impasse that stalled a huge coronavirus relief package in December, leading to the adoption of $900 billion in new COVID-19 spending.
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