Bipartisan deal on infrastructure... lots of compromise on both sides, but ultimately a good day for Americans, and a big accomplishment for President Biden,
It remains to be seen what happens on topics where the GOP won't budge (voting rights, for example), but this is a feather in the cap of Biden's approach to government. It's unclear that Dems were united enough to get 50 votes through on a reconciliation bill so the alternative might have been nothing. This also opens the possibility of using reconciliation for an additional smaller, more targetted bill that could actually get 50 votes.
And, if it ultimately still dies, it puts more pressure on Manchin and Sinema to agree to reconciliation or filibuster reform, since Biden will have tried it their way and still failed.
We need to refresh our infrastructure. My concern is how cheap materials are these days that the replacement infrastructure will be junk.
According to a 2019 study conducted by the American Society of Structural Engineers, most new large infrastructure projects grade out at somewhere between "get 'er done" and "they sure don't make 'em like they used to'
Biden knew all along that this bipartisan bill was never going to please the left wing of the party. This is all for theater for manchin and sinema to show their base that they negotiated in good faith before they push a partisan bill. Remember a month ago manchin published a op-ed saying how reconciliation is killing democracy but he just wanted to please his base in west Virginia. Biden already made it clear he isn't signing a bipartisan until he gets the reconciliation. Biden understands how politics work and the deal of theater and politics. Obama and trump should learn a thing or two from Biden. My guess is dems pass a 2.5 trillion dollar reconciliation bill in September with free community college + extended child tax credits + dems version of infrastructure + some sort of free childcare.
I agree except I think it won't be nearly as large $2.5 trillion to get through the Senate through reconciliation. I'd be happy if we get $1.5 trillion for some version of the bolded. We have $1.9 trillion Covid stimulus, $250 billion China tech threat legislation, and now $1.2 trillion ($600 billion new spending) bipartisan infrastructure. Dems really need to find areas where they can compromise and get their budget reconciliation votes over the finish line.
Seemed like he cashed in some favors from his old buddies. Still a long way in either direction but good vibes on everyone's faces.
Graham: Biden made GOP look like ‘f---ing idiots’ After hearing what President Joe Biden said about linking the small bipartisan infrastructure bill to the big reconciliation bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told us … he’s out.
LOL, what a screw job. Hopefully this is the last time we hear Democrats complaining about Republicans negotiating in bad faith.
No one's negotiating in bad faith - Dems have always said there was a 2 track process, and they've always had two bills. That's how Biden introduced the whole thing months ago. Just because the two votes would happen in September doesn't mean one can't pass without the other. The reconciliation bill could fail due to Manchin/etc. The bipartisan bill could fail to pass due to Republicans or progressives. Or both could pass or both could fail. They aren't linked in any way, except letting Congress know what's in each bill before they vote.
Just as one example, this is from June 16th. The Democrats' plans were never hidden and Republicans claiming to be caught by surprise are lying or were never paying attention to their jobs. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/infrastructure-bill-democrats-two-tracks/ Schumer: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Tuesday that he would convene a meeting with the Democratic members of the Senate Budget Committee to discuss taking up a budget resolution, the first step in the reconciliation process. He added that he wanted a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget resolution that "goes beyond what's in the [bipartisan] bill" passed in July. Tim Kaine: "I'm sure we will want commitments from members that this is the vehicle we will use for anything that is not in a bipartisan bill, and again, even if we don't do a bipartisan bill we're going to put the bipartisan priorities into a reconciliation bill so that gives me confidence we will eventually get there," Kaine said. Manchin and Sinema: Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who are part of the bipartisan group negotiating a deal, have expressed unwillingness to use reconciliation. Neither has publicly committed to supporting a reconciliation package including climate provisions and "human" infrastructure if the bipartisan deal is passed either. Coons: "The most credible path forward is to do as much as we can in sort of traditional hard infrastructure through a bipartisan bill, and have us then proceed by reconciliation to do as much of the Biden agenda, which I strongly support, as we can accomplish with 50 Democrats," Coons said. John Yarmuth: Congressman John Yarmuth, the chair of the Budget Committee, told reporters that he expected Democrats to hold a markup on a resolution for budget reconciliation in July. He said that provisions included in Mr. Biden's American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan that are opposed by Republicans, such as shoring up "human" infrastructure of child care and home care, would be included in such a resolution. "Neither precludes the other," Yarmuth said of continuing negotiations and preparing a budget resolution. All of these were public statements of both a bipartisan deal and a separate reconciliation package.
Very excited to see what’s in these bills. It’s been far too long since we invested in infrastructure and created real jobs in this country that were not pitiful paying hospitality or restaurant.
Both Republicans and Progressives should take the win here instead of pushing for or griping about the other part. This should be looked at as a stand alone bill and something that a lot of people have been pushing for more targeted bill instead of giant bills. This infrastructure bill shouldn’t be tied to another bill.
