A bipartisan group of senators, made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, announced Thursday that they have reached a deal on infrastructure spending and are ready to present it to the White House.
The group did not include a specific price tag on the deal in their statement, but did say it would not call for tax increases.
“Our group – comprised of 10 Senators, 5 from each party – has worked in good faith and reached a bipartisan agreement on a realistic, compromise framework to modernize our nation’s infrastructure and energy technologies. This investment would be fully paid for and not include tax increases,” the statement read in part.
“We are discussing our approach with our respective colleagues, and the White House, and remain optimistic that this can lay the groundwork to garner broad support from both parties and meet America’s infrastructure needs,” the statement added.
The Democrats in the group include Sens. Jon Tester (MT), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Joe Manchin (WV), Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and Mark Warner (VA). The Republicans include Sens. Bill Cassidy (LA), Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Rob Portman (OH) and Mitt Romney (UT).
The news comes soon after President Joe Biden ended negotiations with GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia when the two sides failed to broker the divide over the scope of Biden’s sweeping infrastructure investment and how to pay for it.
Capito, serving as lead negotiator for the Republicans, offered a $928 billion proposal, which included about $330 billion in new spending — but not as much as Biden’s $1.7 trillion investment proposal for rebuilding the nation’s roads, bridges, highways and other infrastructure, including Veterans Affairs hospitals and care centers.
Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, a nonstarter for Republicans, and rejected the GOP senators’ suggestion of tapping unspent COVID-19 aid money to fund the new infrastructure spending.
According to a report from NBC News, the most recent bipartisan proposal would include $579 billion in additional spending, with the full package totalling $1.2 trillion.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
