Biden lowers infrastructure plan to $1.7T; bipartisan support still faces big divide

On May 21, President Biden reduced the price tag on his proposed $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan down to $1.7 trillion in an effort to garner more Republican support.

According to Reuters, the new plan includes cuts to investments in broadband, roads and bridges.

Despite the president’s move to narrow the package, Republicans have said it is still too overarching in scope.

Republicans, who have spoken out against the bill for its expansive definition of infrastructure that includes green energy initiatives and social programs, have countered with a $568 billion proposal that is more targeted to traditional infrastructure. Republicans have also questioned how the plan will be funded, with President Biden favoring corporate tax increases that the GOP staunchly opposes.  

With Memorial Day previously being offered as a deadline when the two sides might move to some kind of bipartisan support, and with the sides still more than $1 trillion apart, some are speculating on whether Democrats might move to pass the bill via the budget reconciliation process that allows certain spending measures to bypass a Senate filibuster.

White House Senior Adviser Cedric Richmond said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on May 23 that President Biden could “change course” away from the bipartisan negotiations if the stalemate persisted and Republican opposition seemed “inevitable”.