WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ohio Democrats in the U.S. House returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday eager to vote for advancing President Joe Biden’s two infrastructure proposals: A $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package and a $3.5 trillion Democrat-only reconciliation package.
What You Need To Know
- House members briefly returned to D.C. in the midst of August recess to vote on President Biden’s two infrastructure proposals
- All Democrats voted for them; all Republicans voted against
- Ohio lawmakers are divided over whether the proposals will help their districts
- Tuesday’s votes were procedural, meaning final passage is still weeks away
Northeast Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan (D, OH-13) called it an investment.
“This is huge. This is transformational,” Ryan told Spectrum News. “I’m not going to apologize for this. This should’ve been done 40 years ago.”
On top of the $1.2 trillion package that focuses on roads and bridges, members like Toledo Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D, OH-9) argued the separate $3.5 billion budget deal is needed to invest in community college, pre-kindergarten, senior citizens and more.
“We know the other side of the aisle has said that they don’t intend to compromise, so we know that we have to carry this as a party,” Kaptur told Spectrum News.
Ohio Republicans insist they’re open to compromise, but Dayton Rep. Mike Turner (R, OH-10) called Biden’s $3.5 trillion proposal “unbelievable.”
“It will be devastating to my district because as the national economy begins to be eroded from this spending spree and inflationary pressures that are going to of course result, our competitiveness internationally, our competitiveness in manufacturing, and certainly the competitiveness in Ohio is eroded,” Turner said in an interview Tuesday.
Even the $1.2 trillion roads and bridges deal, which Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman helped create, gets mixed reviews.
Cincinnati Rep. Steve Chabot (R, OH-1), whose district could receive billions for the Brent Spence Bridge, said he has concerns the package doesn’t focus enough on “hard infrastructure.”
“Just because there are some things in a package like this that you like doesn’t mean that you can support all those things which are extremely wasteful,” Chabot said in an interview Tuesday.
Tuesday’s votes were a procedural step, meaning final passage on either piece of legislation is still weeks away. The House is hoping to get it all done by the end of September.
