Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) recently said Republicans could support an infrastructure plan costing as much as $800 billion, which is already much higher than the total amount proposed by Senate Republicans in April.
In an interview with Kentucky Educational Television on Sunday (May 9), McConnell said Republicans oppose Biden’s $2.3 trillion comprehensive infrastructure plan, which includes both traditional infrastructure but also Democratic priorities like early childhood care, affordable housing and climate change. He went on to say that any infrastructure plan would have to be limited to “traditional” infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and ports in order to gain Republican support.
McConnell said, “Most of us think the appropriate amount to invest in infrastructure is somewhere between $600-800 billion.”
Senate Republican U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia proposed a $568 billion infrastructure plan in April as a response to Biden’s proposal for a comprehensive infrastructure plan. Capito’s response to the plan included billions of dollars for roads, bridges, broadband, mass transit, rail, ports and more. So McConnell said last week that the $600 billion plan is a cap, not a floor.
And another package proposed by the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus in April also called for a gas tax to partially fund infrastructure spending.
McConnell and three other congressional leaders are scheduled to meet with Biden at the White House on Wednesday (May 12), where they will likely discuss Biden’s infrastructure and family plan.
Biden has said he is willing to negotiate with Republicans on his infrastructure plan and plans to meet with senators from both parties to discuss a possible path forward. He also said he is willing to lower his proposed corporate tax increase from 28 percent to ensure bipartisan support.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia also came out against Biden’s proposed 7 percent corporate tax increase. He said, “There are six or seven other (Senate) Democrats who also think this increase is too high.” He added, “Our (companies) have to be competitive, and we can’t be so thoughtless as to make American companies uncompetitive (by raising taxes).”
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