By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans in Congress have until the end of May to negotiate provisions of an infrastructure bill before Democrats opt to move sweeping legislation on their own, one of U.S. President Joe Biden’s closest Senate allies predicted on Wednesday.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Biden’s home state of Delaware said several senior Senate Republicans had privately signaled they would support a package of up to $1 trillion that targets roads, bridges and other traditional infrastructure areas and includes some tax increases to pay for legislation.
But Biden and his fellow Democrats who narrowly control both houses of Congress will not wait long before deciding whether to move their own sweeping $2 trillion package forward without Republican support.
“I believe that President Biden is open to spending the next month negotiating what the possibility is,” Coons said in an interview with Punchbowl News. He said he spoke to the president earlier this week.
If no clear deal exists by the May 31 Memorial Day holiday, Coons added, “I think Democrats just roll it up into a big package and move it.”
Republican leaders including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have loudly rejected Biden’s infrastructure proposal, which not only invests in roads and bridges but also seeks to change the course of the U.S. economy by addressing climate change and boosting human services such as elder care.
Biden would fund the package by raising taxes on businesses.
Republican opposition raises the odds Democrats will use a maneuver called reconciliation to pass a package with just their own votes. Democrats control half the 100 seats in the Senate with Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice president, the tie-breaking 51st vote.
But Coons said talks with “several fairly seasoned senior Republicans” suggest bipartisan support for a narrower bill that could be funded partially by higher gasoline taxes and a new fee for electric vehicles to be dedicated to road infrastructure.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)
