A bipartisan group of 10 senators trying to hash out a compromise $1.2 trillion, eight-year infrastructure spending package retained the idea of indexing the national gasoline tax to a measure of inflation despite White House opposition.
Indexing the gas tax — which hasn’t changed since a hike approved in 1993 — remains part of the proposed compromise. Democrat Jon Tester of Montana said it’s “in until it is out,” while highlighting that the bipartisan group doesn’t yet have a full agreement on the infrastructure plan. Republican Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said if the Biden administration wants it out, it should offer a replacement.
The group, including five GOP and five Democratic members, concluded a meeting Monday evening without releasing a detailed proposal, showcasing the difficulties in bridging partisan differences.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said he thought a concrete proposal could be released later this week, something Republican Susan Collins also said was probably reasonable. But Democrat Jeanne Shaheen said that discussion about funding mechanisms were “still fluid.”
The White House last week rejected the idea of indexing the gas tax to a measure of inflation, saying that would violate President Joe Biden’s pledge to not raise taxes on those earning less than $400,000. Biden’s proposed corporate-tax hikes to pay for infrastructure have been rejected by Republicans.
Tuesday meeting
The bipartisan proposal calls for $579 billion in net new spending beyond outlays that Congress was already expected to enact — but well below the $1.7 trillion in new spending Biden has publicly called for.
The talks, led by Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, come amid intensifying angst among Democrats about how to proceed on Biden’s long-term economic plans, with White House officials set to meet with the party’s House caucus Tuesday. Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said Monday that that session would be a jumping-off point for conversations on the path forward for infrastructure.
Jeffries said he is hoping to hear from administration officials an assessment of whether bipartisan talks are progressing.
The bipartisan Senate group also includes Republicans Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, along with Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia.
The senators are seeking to get at least 10 Republicans on board with the plan as a prelude to securing the 50 members of the Democratic caucus they would need to pass the bill in the Senate.
Republicans Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mike Rounds of South Dakoa, Todd Young of Indiana and Thom Tillis of North Carolina met with Biden early in the administration on coronavirus relief and may be the most likely to support the plan, along with Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi.
“I don’t know the specifics yet about this plan, I don’t think they’ve been determined. But I’m certainly supportive of the effort,” Moran said.
The group’s package totals $974 billion when applying the five-year scoring that’s typically used for highway bills. The proposal is limited to core physical infrastructure and omits the social programs such as elderly care that Biden included in his American Jobs Plan proposal.
Progressives in the House are urging the president and Senate Democrats to abandon talks with the Republicans and try to pass Biden’s $4 trillion economic agenda using a special budget process with just Democratic support. The problem is that moderate Democrats, including Manchin and Sinema, do not yet back that approach — and their support would be needed.
