Senate infrastructure talks near deal - The Washington Post

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Senate Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday appeared to clinch a deal that would invest roughly $1 trillion into the nation’s infrastructure, capping off weeks of intense, nearly ill-fated negotiations over one of President Biden’s top economic priorities.

The new agreement — announced separately by two of its lead negotiators, Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — puts to paper the policy specifics behind an outline that a bipartisan bloc of lawmakers released earlier this June to improve the country’s roads, railways, pipes, ports and Internet connections.

Portman said that the group had resolved all their remaining issues after haggling between lawmakers and the White House that had stretched late into Tuesday night. “We’ve got a deal,” Sinema later said.

Asked about the developments while traveling in Pennsylvania, President Biden remarked, “I feel confident about it.”

The political breakthrough appeared to put the Senate on track to hold a key procedural vote Wednesday that would allow the chamber to begin debating the infrastructure measure. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said he hopes to pass the package before the August recess.

Democratic negotiators including Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia similarly sounded a note of optimism about a deal Wednesday, with both saying they thought the Senate could hold a key procedural vote in a few hours. Other Democrats and Republicans joined them in signaling an openness to forging ahead, though many lawmakers cautioned they had not yet seen text of the plan.

Wednesday’s development came just days after talks appeared to have run aground. Lawmakers found themselves at a stalemate over how to spend money to improve the nation’s railways, water pipes and Internet connections, as well as the exact means by which to pay for it. The disagreements ultimately scuttled an attempt last week to open debate on the infrastructure proposal, which Republicans blocked unanimously since the proposal hadn’t yet been finished.

Reaching an agreement, however, only marks the beginning of the battle over a massive measure that would touch nearly every part of the economy. To shepherd it through the Senate, Democratic leaders must ensure the measure remains attractive to those in their own party as well as Republicans, without whom they do not have the 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

The infrastructure proposal also is only one component of Biden’s broader economic agenda, and Democrats plan to try to move a second, roughly $3.5 trillion package essentially in tandem. Party lawmakers plan to rely on a legislative maneuver known as reconciliation to adopt it using 51 votes, rather than the typical 60, allowing Democrats to bypass what is likely to be overwhelming GOP opposition to the budget deal.

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