Tester: America ‘Needs’ Bipartisan Bill, It Should Be Considered on Its ‘Own Merits’

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) argued that lawmakers should weigh the bipartisan infrastructure package and the reconciliation package “on their own merits.” And that the country “needs” the bipartisan bill and “we need to be able to show that we can work together to get something passed.”

Tester said, “I think you need to take a look at each and weigh them out on their own merits. This bill is traditional infrastructure. I think it’s what the country needs. And hopefully, we can get it through the Senate with a good vote and get it to the House and they’ll pass it and get it to the president’s desk. And then we have reconciliation, and hopefully, we can get a reconciliation bill that meets the needs of America, whether it’s in child care or housing or senior care or whatever it might be and make sure that it’s paid for and move it along, too. … I mean, this country needs this bill, and they need to — we need to be able to show that we can work together to get something passed. And I think this bill meets the needs of this country very, very well, I’m talking about the bipartisan bill. And look, once we get this done, when we go to reconciliation, that bill may be really, really good, too and we’ll make that assessment once that bill gets drafted and built and amended and all the things that this bill’s going to go through over the next week.”

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