WASHINGTON—Two centrist senators key to negotiations over infrastructure spending signaled progress in talks but made clear they don’t support President Biden’s expansive $2.3 trillion proposal.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) said Sunday he wants the focus to be on conventional infrastructure like highways and bridges and that spending should be split off from broader items in Mr. Biden’s proposal, such as $400 billion to help care for the aging and those with disabilities.
“I do think they should be separated. Because if you start putting so much into one bill, which we call an omnibus bill, it makes it very, very difficult for the public to understand,” Mr. Manchin said on CNN.
Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, also from West Virginia, said she had received positive feedback from the White House after she helped craft a $568 billion infrastructure proposal, which was cast as a starting point for bipartisan negotiations.
“This is an active conversation, and I think that it’s a good beginning,” she said on CNN of the plan, which doesn’t provide specifics on how to fund the investments and some Democrats say is far too limited.
“That’s a good start,” Mr. Manchin said.
Despite flickers of bipartisanship, the parties remain far apart on infrastructure and other issues as Mr. Biden nears his 100th day in office and seeks to press his agenda, including a next wave of spending on antipoverty and education programs he wants to be paid for by higher taxes on the wealthy. A person familiar with the plan said Sunday it will cost about $1.8 trillion, which could fuel Republican criticism about spending by Democrats.
On Wednesday, Mr. Biden will urge Congress to get behind his spending proposals while calling for the passage of legislation to address police misconduct. He is also expected to outline his next major spending plan, more than $1 trillion on antipoverty and education programs that would be paid for through higher taxes on the wealthy that has drawn early GOP opposition.
Mr. Biden gets high marks on his handling of Covid-19 and the economy while his overall approval rating is 53%, according to a Real Clear Politics average of polls. That is above what former President Donald Trump received during his first 100 days in office, but below what fellow Democrat Barack Obama enjoyed at the same time in his first term.
Mr. Manchin is one of the most closely watched members of the Senate, given the chamber has a 50-50 split between Republicans and the Democratic caucus, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote in case of a tie. He has resisted calls in his party to change Senate filibuster rules requiring a 60-vote threshold to pass major legislation and is lukewarm about raising corporate taxes to pay for infrastructure.
“I’m not a roadblock at all,” Mr. Manchin said Sunday. “The best politics is good government.…I am not going to be part of blowing up this Senate of ours or, basically, this democracy of ours.”
The idea of splitting up infrastructure bills has also been pushed by Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.), a close ally of Mr. Biden. He says Democrats should work with Republicans on areas of agreement before pivoting to a second, broader package that Democrats pass along party lines.
Ms. Moore Capito indicated a willingness to support more spending than her plan calls for but said it should target key needs—Republicans and Democrats agree that an updated definition of infrastructure should include broadband internet—and be paid for with user fees, not higher taxes on corporations. The Republican also floated the idea of allowing states to use unspent Covid-19 relief money for infrastructure.
She said she would resume discussions Monday. “This is an active conversation, and I think that it’s a good beginning.”
Mr. Biden’s plan calls for raising taxes on business, including moving the corporate tax rate to 28% from the current 21%. The president has said he is open to compromise on the funding, while drawing a line at increasing taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000.
Republicans are opposed to higher taxes, but there are some signs that the corporate tax rate could be in play, possibly at around 25%.
“I’m going to talk to Joe about it,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said on “Fox News Sunday,” referring to Mr. Manchin. “I want to make sure it doesn’t hurt the economy. We’re competing with the world writ large. A lot of the money we spent for Covid had nothing to do with Covid…We can direct some of that to infrastructure.”
Said Mr. Graham, “There’s probably an $800 billion and $900 billion infrastructure bill that we could all agree on.”
Write to Alex Leary at [email protected]
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