WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday offered Republicans in Congress a counterproposal on the president’s infrastructure plan that would lower its total cost from $2.25 trillion to $1.7 trillion, press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Psaki called the counteroffer “reasonable” and said it shifts proposed investments in research and development, supply chains, manufacturing and small business initiatives into other pieces of legislation, such as the Endless Frontier Act and the CHIPS Act.
The new proposal also reduces funding for broadband to match the Republican offer and reduces investments in roads, bridges and other major projects, Psaki said.
“This proposal exhibits a willingness to come down in size — giving on some areas that are important to the president, otherwise they wouldn’t have been in the proposal — while also staying firm in areas that are most vital to rebuilding our infrastructure and industries of the future,” Psaki said during the daily press briefing.
May 21, 202101:48
“This is all in the spirit of finding common ground,” she added. “The counteroffer also reflects our view that the Republican offer excludes entirely some proposals that are key to our competitiveness.”
The proposal is likely to receive a chilly reception from Republicans who have been pushing a $568 billion proposal. Both parties had set Memorial Day as an informal deadline to reach an agreement, but that timeline looks increasingly unlikely.
Psaki said that the White House would release full details of Biden’s counteroffer later Friday after administration officials concluded a virtual meeting with congressional Republicans on the new offer.
Counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo were part of that meeting, Psaki said.
During this week’s negotiations, Psaki said that White House officials reiterated their opposition to user fees as a mechanism to pay for the proposals.
In an interview with MSNBC earlier this month, Biden said he was open to passing parts of his proposal without Republican support if he was unable to reach a deal.
“I want to know what can we agree on, and let’s see if we can get an agreement to kick-start this, and then fight over what’s left, and see if I can get it done without Republicans if need be,” Biden said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
