President Joe Biden opened the door Wednesday for possible changes to his $2.25 trillion “infrastructure” bill as even Senate Democrats have expressed concerns about its details.
“Debate is welcome,” the president remarked at the White House, according to the Washington Post, before adding: “Compromise is inevitable.”
Biden unveiled his infrastructure bill last week, revealing the plan to be packed full of non-related spending with only approximately 25 percent of it funding basic infrastructure.
As Breitbart News reported:
Around $639 billion would be spent on traditional infrastructure, including $115 billion to revamp highways and roads, while just $25 billion would go toward fixing up airports. The bill sets aside $85 billion to modernize existing transit systems and $111 billion to replace lead pipes and service lines. Another $100 billion would be spent on building high-speed broadband systems and $100 billion for electric transmission infrastructure. Climate change projects, including development for electric vehicles and charging stations, would also receive billions in funding. The plan would see another $400 billion in spending on health care and $213 billion on affordable housing, along with research training, and development programs.
Biden’s plan has garnered heavy criticism from Republicans such as Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who pointed out that the proposal would spend a mere 6 percent on building new roads and bridges.
“Not even six percent of President Joe Biden’s massive $2 trillion ‘infrastructure’ bill would be used to build roads and bridges,” Blackburn said in a statement. “Biden’s plan includes the largest tax hike in nearly three decades, but of course, coastal elites will have their taxes slashed. It will strip Americans of their right to work by forcing them to join Democrat-backed unions. This ‘infrastructure’ plan is another Trojan horse for the radical left.”
“Roads need repair, and commuters are begging for highways to be expanded. Our country needs a bipartisan and targeted approach to improving infrastructure. President Joe Biden ran on a platform of unity, but since taking office has shown his true colors as an unrestrained partisan,” the senator added.
On top of Republican opposition, Biden’s plan was rejected by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) over its corporate tax hike.
Manchin, who holds a crucial swing vote in the Democrats’ slim Senate majority, said Monday that: “As the bill exists today, it needs to be changed.”
The West Virginia senator revealed that he isn’t the only Democrat who is against the tax hike, saying: “There’s six or seven other Democrats who feel very strongly about this. We have to be competitive, and we’re not going to throw caution to the wind.”
“If I don’t vote to get on it, it’s not going anywhere,” the lawmaker added.
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