Bipartisan group of senators reach deal on new infrastructure package

One part of President Joe Biden’s “think big” infrastructure package appears set to pass with bipartisan support. The other, more innovative, infrastructure spending deal could be pass as a go-it-alone Democratic spending deal.

First, there appears to finally be a bipartisan deal on a new infrastructure spending package that is about half what the president originally sought in his $2.25 trillion proposal.

One official directly familiar with the framework said the revised level was $559 billion in new spending. The entire package could approach $1 trillion.

“White House senior staff had two productive meetings today with the bipartisan group of Senators who have been negotiating about infrastructure,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Wednesday.

The group was invited to the White House Thursday to discuss this latest proposal with the president.

“I’m optimistic that we’ve had a breakthrough,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.

It is unclear whether GOP leaders, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will sign off on the package.

The 10 senators are Collins, Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.).

Business lobbying groups praised the bipartisanship and said it finally appeared the nation would be getting infrastructure investment long lacking.

National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said his group was “encouraged” by the apparent agreement on a framework for an infrastructure package.

“Infrastructure has always had strong support across the aisle, so crafting a bipartisan pathway for this essential investment is the surest way to achieve progress,” Shay said. “Now more than ever, the U.S. needs significant investment to ensure we remain competitive on a global basis. The retail industry relies on our nation’s transportation network to move billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise every day to warehouses, distribution centers and stores, and ultimately to consumers’ front doors. The ongoing supply chain disruptions that retailers and others are continuing to face highlight the need for investment and reform.” 

The White House has released a separate $1.8 trillion package meant to invest in “human infrastructure” such as education and paid leave.

Democratic leaders have hinted that Biden’s expansive infrastructure agenda could pass through multiple tracks. That would mean passing one bipartisan package that spends money on traditional public-works projects. The other funding Democratic priorities could pass using a special budgetary process that circumvents a filibuster in the Senate.

Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., met with administration officials to map out both legislative strategies for the president’s plan.

 James H. Burnley, a partner at Washington, D.C.-based law firm Venable LLP and former Secretary of Transportation under the late President Ronald Reagan, said he is hopeful about this development.

“This is clearly a breakthrough, but there are still quite a few hurdles before it can become law,” Burnley told LM. “That said, I am optimistic that something close to this will become law this year.”

LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman contributed to this report.