Biden kicks off infrastructure week by meeting with Sen. Manchin, likely gatekeeper of his $2.3T plan
It’s infrastructure week in Washington — again.
President Biden hosted a key Democratic senator at the White House on Monday to discuss his American Jobs Plan, kicking off what’s expected to be a flurry of meetings with lawmakers this week focused on getting Congress to pass the sprawling $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill.
Infrastructure week has become a running joke on Capitol Hill because of failures by Congress to act on past pushes for action, but White House officials expressed optimism that this iteration won’t be another futile public relations stunt.
“This is a big week ahead,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters before Biden met behind closed-doors with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, his first of the day’s two one-on-one sit-downs.
Biden picking Manchin for his first private meet of the week underscores the outsized role the West Virginia Democrat is expected to play in negotiations over the $2.3 trillion package.
Manchin has voiced support for the broad strokes of Biden’s plan, which would funnel hundreds of billions of dollars into fixing the nation’s crumbling roads, railroads, bridges, power grids, water pipes, public transit and various other infrastructure systems, creating millions of jobs in the process.
But the Mountain State senator — who stands out in the Democratic Party for his fiscally conservative leanings — has poured cold water on Biden’s proposal to pay for the government spending by raising taxes on corporations and the rich.
His tax hike reticence, in turn, could jeopardize the plan’s prospects, as it appears increasingly likely that Senate Democrats will attempt to pass it via reconciliation — a complex legislative process that could be carried out without Republican support, as long as all 50 Democrats, including Manchin, stay in line.
The tax wrinkle was expected to be a major focus of Biden’s sit-down with Manchin, according to a congressional aide briefed on the matter.
Later in the day, Biden was also set to talk infrastructure one-on-one with Delaware Sen. Tom Carper, a longtime Democratic ally.
Delivering remarks at the White House before his back-to-back meetings, Biden touted that the Treasury Department is finally starting to pump out hundreds of billions of dollars in budgetary relief for state and local governments bankrolled by the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus enacted in March.
“But it’s not nearly enough,” Biden said. “That’s why we need the American Jobs Plan, which is an eight-year investment strategy to make sure working people of this country get to share in the benefits of a rising economy ... That’s the next stage. That’s what we’re doing right now. We’re working to get that passed.”
While Biden looked ahead, many of New York’s congressional Democrats took a moment to celebrate the release of nearly $24 billion in local aid for the Empire State — cash that will help public sectors across the city and state cover massive budgetary shortfalls and avoid layoffs.
“This is so important to the state and local governments. That’s why we fought so hard for it,” said Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who represents parts of Queens and Long Island.
Back on the American Jobs Plan front, Biden has urged Congress to find a path forward by Memorial Day in hopes of being able to sign it into law this summer.
Besides Manchin, congressional Democrats widely support Biden’s proposal, which would retrofit American infrastructure in a way to make it more climate-friendly, in addition to repairing it. Through tax hikes and blue-collar industry investments, the plan also explicitly seeks to level out economic disparities in the U.S.
Republicans are virtually unanimously opposed to the proposal, claiming it’s too expensive and crammed with liberal priorities unrelated to infrastructure.
Sparks are likely to fly over those disagreements when Biden meets Wednesday with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, the two top Republicans in Congress who have railed against the $2.3 trillion blueprint.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, the two top Democrats on Capitol Hill, are also expected to attend Wednesday’s meet.
Biden will round out the infrastructure-focused week by meeting Thursday with a group of Republican lawmakers led by West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who has unveiled a smaller infrastructure plan that she argues won’t unnecessarily add to the federal deficit.
