U.S. senators reach deal on infrastructure framework, will brief Biden

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of US Senators said Wednesday it had reached an agreement on a “framework” for an infrastructure spending bill and plans to discuss it with President Joe Biden on Thursday, but warned before there are unsolved problems.

“We agreed on a plan we have, and we’re just going to try to finalize it tomorrow,” said a Democratic negotiator, Joe Manchin, after the group met with White House officials.

The White House said the meeting was productive.

“The group has made progress towards a possible deal and the President has invited the group to come to the White House tomorrow to discuss this in person,” said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Biden will meet with lawmakers before heading to Raleigh, North Carolina to visit a mobile clinic that delivers COVID-19 shots.

Passing a law to rebuild roads, bridges and other traditional infrastructure is a top priority for the Democratic President.

To fuel growth and tackle post-coronavirus pandemic income inequality, Biden originally proposed spending about $ 2.3 trillion on a comprehensive definition of infrastructure, including tackling climate change and caring for children and the elderly .

The White House cut the offer to about $ 1.7 trillion in an effort to get the Republican support needed for any plan, get the 60 votes needed to pass most of the laws in the evenly divided 100- to advance the seated Senate.

After rejecting a Republican counteroffer a little over two weeks ago, the White House turned to the bipartisan group of 21 Senators, or “G-21”. Read more This group worked on an eight-year bipartisan infrastructure plan worth $ 1.2 trillion, with a mix of new and reallocated funds. The framework now includes $ 559 billion in new spending, said a source familiar with the talks. The group had previously discussed $ 579 billion in new spending.

Several members of the G-21 said a framework had been agreed, although some details needed to be ironed out, and Manchin said the White House had signed the proposal.

After meeting the group of nine Democrats, one independent and eleven Republicans in the Senate, the White House negotiators sat down with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leading Democrats in Congress .

The White House said Schumer, Pelosi and White House officials discussed the importance of the so-called two-pronged approach, which would include the passage of the compromise infrastructure bill and a separate budget measure only for the Democrats, to the “full range” of Biden’s priorities.

“MUCH MORE STABLE”

Democratic Senator Mark Warner, another member of the negotiating group, said the framework was “much more stable” than one previously announced by a smaller group of 10 senators.

A major sticking point in the negotiations was the payment of the investments. Manchin said the framework contained a “long list” of pay-fors and that any new expenses would be offset against provisions to cover them, but did not provide details.

“We have a balanced set of pay-fors. That was important to both sides. I’ll say in good faith that we tried to get there. We didn’t agree on everything, but we could do it,” said Republican Senator Rob. Portman, another negotiator, told reporters.

Biden has pledged not to hike taxes for Americans who earn less than $ 400,000 a year, while Republicans are determined to protect a corporate tax cut in 2017.

After meeting White House officials, Schumer and Pelosi said they support the concepts contained in the framework and hoped to vote on the bipartisan law and Democratic only second measure in July.

Pelosi said members realized that both bills were needed and hoped to vote on both measures in both houses of Congress in July.

The second bill, which Democrats could pass with the help of a tie vote from Vice President Kamala Harris, would include significant additional spending on programs such as home nursing for the elderly and others that are not normally considered infrastructure. This maneuver would require all 48 Democrats and the two Independents who partner with them to agree. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders is working on an ambitious $ 6 trillion infrastructure plan.

Reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller

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