4 Minute Read by (Reuters) – WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Later on Tuesday, White House officials were due to meet with Democratic senators to try to lay the groundwork for a possibly multibillion-dollar infrastructure investment program that may be passed by Congress this fall. PHOTO FROM THE FILE: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to news reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2021, after the announcement of a bipartisan infrastructure package. Tom Brenner/REUTERS/File Photo “I’m hoping that we can get a compromise,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said of the closed-door meeting he and other Senate Budget Committee Democrats were scheduled to attend, adding that Democrats were not discounting the challenges ahead. In two stages, Democrats hope to put through President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure proposals: A $1.2 trillion bipartisan measure focused on physical infrastructure like roads and bridges was introduced here, as was a potentially larger bill that would pass the Senate with only Democratic votes in a tactic known as “reconciliation here.” The meeting on Tuesday night, which follows a similar one on Monday, is aimed at progressing the second step. One of the stumbling blocks is Democratic Senator Joe Manchin’s demand that all extra spending be compensated by cuts elsewhere. Schumer is unlikely to be able to pass the bill without Manchin’s support. Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the budget committee, is advocating for up to $6 trillion in infrastructure spending, which would include non-traditional investments like climate change financing and home care assistance for the elderly and children. The negotiations also included a large expansion of the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly. Moderate Democrats have been pushing for a less expensive resolution – maybe trillions less than Sanders’ proposal – that would lay the groundwork for legislation in September, which would also need to clear the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. Most Americans desire the kinds of infrastructure improvements contained in Biden and congressional Democrats’ agenda, according to an Ipsos poll conducted this month for Reuters. 84 percent of respondents in the United States backed a government spending plan to restore or replace old ports, trains, bridges, and highways, according to a national opinion poll conducted last Wednesday and Thursday. Seventy-six percent supported investing in home-based care for the elderly or disabled, 74 percent supported providing all Americans with high-speed internet access, and 69 percent supported replacing all lead pipes in the US. When asked how they would pay for what may be significantly more than $1 trillion in federal spending, 64% said they would accept a tax increase on the wealthy, while 27% said they would reject it. Only 37% stated they would be prepared to pay higher taxes individually to help support a government infrastructure plan. While Biden has supported raising taxes on corporations and the rich, he has stated that he will not raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000 per year. The Ipsos survey received responses from 1,004 respondents, and the results had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points, which is a measure of precision. The Senate’s 50 Republicans are unlikely to support the bigger infrastructure plan, allowing Democrats to attempt approval on their own through a budget reconciliation process that avoids the requirement that legislation pass with 60 votes in the 100-member chamber. Republicans have stated that any package that boosts taxes on corporations or the rich would not be supported by them. Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell contributed reporting, and Chris Kahn contributed further reporting; Scott Malone and Peter Cooney edited the piece./n
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