Senators to release a bipartisan bill

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(LR) US Senator Kirsten Senema (Democrat from A to Z), Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Classic), Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Los Angeles), Senator Susan Collins (R-Middle East), Senator Mitt Romney (R). )-UT), Senator John Tester (R-Montana) and Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) arrive at the US Capitol after a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House on June 24, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Alex Wong | Getty Images

The Senate faces a time crunch to pass President Joe Biden’s sweeping agenda, as senators this week attempt to finalize and strengthen a bipartisan infrastructure package.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers aim to pass a bill by Monday that would allocate $579 billion in new money to transportation, broadband and utilities. Disagreements over issues including transit funding prevented senators from finalizing the legislation.

“We’ve come about 90% of the way there,” Ohio Senator Rob Portman, the Republican Party’s chief negotiator, told ABC “This Week” on Sunday. He added that he was “satisfied with his achievement this week” and noted that transit money was the biggest obstacle to a deal.

NBC News reported Monday that Democratic senators and White House officials have sent the Republican Party a counteroffer that will address all remaining sticking points. It is unclear whether Republicans will accept the proposal.

Republicans voted against developing the framework in the Senate last week as the group was trying to finish the bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York State can bring up a procedural vote again once senators pass the legislation.

Democratic leaders are rushing to pass both an infrastructure plan and a second party bill that invests in child care, education and efforts to curb climate change. Biden views both parts of his agenda as vital to boosting the economy and creating a stronger social safety net as the United States emerges from the wreckage of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Schumer aims to make progress on both fronts in the coming weeks. He hopes to pass both the bipartisan bill and budget resolution — which would allow his party to approve his $3.5 trillion plan without any Republican votes in the 50-50 Senate divided by party — before he leaves the House for the August recess.

The Senate plans to leave Washington from August 9 to September 10. Schumer said he will keep the House in session for as long as it takes to pass the infrastructure bill and budget resolution.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said she would not accept either proposal until the Senate passed both. The strategy has raised concerns among Republicans who fear a vote on the bipartisan plan will give Democrats a $3.5 trillion package a better chance of success, and among centrist Democrats who are not yet comfortable with their party’s growing proposal.

Representative Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat who worked with senators on the infrastructure plan, told CNBC Monday that he would push for a separate House vote on the bipartisan bill if it passes through the Senate.

“If we get that done, which I think we will do and I am confident we will do, I think we should get an independent vote in the House of Representatives,” he said.

Pelosi on Sunday reiterated her strategy of taking both projects together.

“I won’t put it on the ground until we get the rest of the initiative,” she told This Week.

With narrow majorities in both houses, Democrats have to keep their caucuses united behind two massive spending bills. To get Senate approval, the bipartisan plan would need votes from all 50 Democrats and at least 10 Republicans.

Schumer will need to urge every member of his party to support the reconciliation bill. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, among others, has expressed concerns about the cost of the plan.

Democrats also have a slim majority of 220 to 211 in the House of Representatives.

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