Biden Announces Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, But Won’t Sign It Without Reconciliation Bill
The reconciliation bill is all about the “human infrastructure” the progressives and far-left cry about all the time: education, child care, family leave, etc.
President Joe Biden announced a bipartisan infrastructure plan worth almost $1 trillion came to fruition. Biden and the Democrat and Republican senators with him appeared happy and content. I saw a tweet celebrating the view of those senators laughing and smiling together.
Aw, how sweet. Aw, how gross.
I do not just mean the view of those people getting along. They’re not supposed to get along. I like gridlock.
I described the value as gross: $1.2 trillion. Will we ever see a bill under a trillion again? I doubt it.
But will the bill pass? Biden made the announcement. He appeared as joyful as everyone else. Yet, he said he would not sign the bill unless Congress also passes a reconciliation bill.
The reconciliation bill includes the “human infrastructure” the progressives and far-left want so bad.
Infrastructure
So what did this group of swamp people agree on? From the White House fact sheet:
- Roads, bridges, major projects: $109 billion
- Safety: $11 billion
- Public transit: $49 billion
- Passenger and Freight Rail: $66 billion
- Electric vehicle infrastructure: $7.5 billion
- Electric buses / transit: $7.5 billion
- Reconnecting communities: $1 billion
- Airports: $25 billion
- Ports & Waterways: $16 billion
- Infrastructure Financing: $20 billion
- Water infrastructure: $55 billion
- Broadband infrastructure: $65 billion
- Environmental remediation: $21 billion
- Power infrastructure including grid authority: $73 billion
- Western Water Storage: $5 billion
- Resilience: $47 billion
The bill costs $973 billion over five years. However, the bill is valued at $1.2 trillion if it continued over eight years:
*New spending + baseline (over 5 years) = $973B
*New spending + baseline (over 8 years) = $1,209B
It’s cute how the WH used a B in the second line. I had to do a double-take! The writer should have us a T for trillion.
The White House fact sheet only offered vague payment sources for this trillion-dollar monstrosity. Does it shock anyone that “Reduce the IRS tax gap” appears at the top? I didn’t think so.
The list includes a partnership between the public and private sector, using existing federal funds, and having states and local governments invest in broadband infrastructure.
Reconciliation Bill
Biden has his photo of bipartisanship in the media, but a colossal point remains mostly buried.
All of it is null and void unless Congress passes a reconciliation bill filled with the “human infrastructure” in Biden’s original wishlist:
Absent from the bipartisan deal are broad swaths of Mr. Biden’s original $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, which included hundreds of billions in funding for home care, housing, and workforce development, and his $1.8 trillion plan on childcare and education. It also doesn’t include the White House’s plan to raise taxes on corporations and high-income Americans to finance the cost of the spending.
Biden told reporters today:
“I expect that in the coming months this summer, before the fiscal year is over, that we will have voted on this bill, the infrastructure bill, as well as voted on the budget resolution. But if only one comes to me, this is the only one that comes to me, I’m not signing it. It’s in tandem,” Biden told reporters at the White House.
—
“I expect that in the coming months this summer, before the fiscal year is over, that we will have voted on this bill, the infrastructure bill, as well as voted on the budget resolution. But if only one comes to me, this is the only one that comes to me, I’m not signing it. It’s in tandem,” Biden told reporters at the White House.
In other words, the infrastructure bill will likely not happen. Democrat moderate Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema said they would work with their colleagues on a reconciliation bill, but I doubt they will agree to it.
Eleven Republicans support bipartisan efforts, but that will likely go to zero with the reconciliation bill. It might even lower once they all review the infrastructure bill.
In other words, the comradeship showed off at the White House is all fake. It means nothing because the reconciliation bill will not pass.
They got their photo op.
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Comments
He’s not in the picture but LI fave Giggles Grahamnesty was one of this bipartisan Gang of 20.
He is. He’s just too much of a weasel coward to publicly admit it.
The things you see when you don’t have a shotgun.😂
Why do they always say bip[aritissna when it’s Leftist and RINOs? It a wealth transfer, not an infrastructure bill no matter who supports it.
And, of course, Cassidy is in the background. That chuckle headed disgrace.
Hey, Bill, there’s more than your wife that you have to answer to, like me and the rest of Louisiana.
The treacherous scum.
This is the GOP once again stepping up to the plate to rescue the Democrats when things look hopeless for them.
The only GOP who signed onto this so far are RINOs like Murkowski and Romney.
So, bait and switch. I would like to think that the Republicans involved in this deal compromised in good faith, and on learning of Biden’s chicanery they will immediately withdraw their support; but I’m afraid I’m going to be disappointed, and our resident attack squad, who are constantly ranting about RINOs whose stances for conservative values are just for show, will prove in this instance to be correct.
Certainly any Republican who still supports this compromise bill, even knowing that it’s a fraud and that everything the Dems supposedly gave up will be coming right back in reconciliation, should be ashamed of himself and should be drummed out of the party.
Note to mark311, is this what you mean by consensus-building?! Is this what you think Republicans ought to go along with?!
Which is exactly why we are sick to fucking death of the RINOs. It’s the same crew of quislings over and over again.
The Democrats DO NOT OPERATE IN GOOD FAITH.
We’re sick of the RINOs giving them the benefit of the doubt that they have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to earn.
“The Democrats DO NOT OPERATE IN GOOD FAITH”
They can’t run on that, but that’s their platform.
I think Biden is trying to keep the peace with the more left wing elements. He is trying balance moderate Republicans with more liberal elements within the Democratic party. Whether that’s a good idea I’m not sure. If focused on the bill itself then yeah sure it’s a good example of compromise. I do take the point that trying to a larger piece of legislation through via reconciliation certainly isn’t in that spirit. We shall see if that’s just a ploy or not.
I think it’s worth saying compromise is a worthy trait for passing legislation and whilst I have railed against GOP being pretty rubbish at compromise generally I’m not suggesting that the Democrats aren’t guilty of the same issue at times.
I’m discouraged that the country’s in such bad shape after Trump screwed it up so hugely, but I come here and read your troll comments about how great a job Biden’s doing and it cheers me up to no end. Keep up the good trolling.
Do you know what a troll actually is? I’m not clear that you do.
If you took the sarcasm out of your comment, you’d be right to a degree. Trump was a disaster from start to finish. I reserve judgement on Biden, too early to tell in a meaningful sense.
Even if Trump had 3 great years (which id argue against) then Covid id argue that Trumps Covid response was so inept as to discount any credit for the first 3 years. His response literally killed numerous Americans.
Huh? Trump’s response was not perfect, but it was as good as anyone’s could have been and a lot better than most. He’s proven to be right on almost every point. The virus is Chinese, Dr Zelenko’s protocol works, there’s no such thing as outdoor transmission, or “asymptomatic transmission”, mask mandates don’t work, the vaccine came in exactly as he predicted and everyone mocked him for, let’s see, what else was he criticised for? Tell me, what exactly was he wrong about?
@milhouse
What planet are you on?
Trump’s response included making shit up, changing his position, pretending there was no crisis, lying about the severity of it, a man who thought using disinfectant was a good idea. Let’s face it the American death toll has been enormous in comparison with most other places
Pretending there was no crisis and lying about the severity of it, like Pelosi did on Chinese New Yearm or DiBlasio did at the very end of March?
And the disinfectant thing is a nothingburger — he’s a policymaker, not a biologist or physician, and he was talking about avenues of investigation, not prescribing anything to anybody. It’s stlll way less ignorant than Democrat congresspeople who talk about our having planted the US flag on Mars, or Guam capsizing.
So tell us, exactly what shit did he make up?
Mark, what the hell are you talking about? Name one thing Trump made up. Name one instance in which he pretended there was no crisis; all he did was try not to wildly exaggerate the crisis as his opponents did. He lied about the severity?! On the contrary, he was practically the only one telling the truth about it. And using disinfectant is a good idea! Who in the world denies it? Are you seriously telling me you deny that disinfectant kills the Wuhan virus?! And no, the American death toll has been completely in line with other places, except where Democrat governors massacred nursing home populations.
Milhouse, @mark311 has said he joined the site in November 2020 to learn other viewpoints and to engage in debate. So, here’s a thought, let’s not respond to him and maybe he will go away.
As to this post, obviously, he can’t name one thing that Trump made up. Trump was right about the origin, the lab release, the benefits of . . . you know the story. You are talking to a wall here; @mark311 is puffed up by his own bias and completely unreachable. He believes himself superior to us, though there is zero evidence to support such an assumption.
If you just like to amuse yourself by baiting him (as I confess I occasionally find an agreeable pastime), that’s one thing, but he’s a true-believer leftie troll. Don’t lose sight of that.
I think Biden is in large part a hollow suit with very little low capabilities. He is the front for the most extreme elements of the Dems. It is ironic that a demented con artist is being used in this manner.
Yah common right wing trope to attack Bidens mental abilities. Sure he has slowed down but he still makes coherent sense when talking including recalling details from prior events, which is more than I can say from Trump on a number of occasions.
Mark,
He stated that at the time of the founding that private citizens couldn’t own cannon. That is absolutely false.
Firstly, examine the Constitution which grants Congress the power to ‘issue letters of marque and reprisal’, which Congress did utilize during the Revolutionary war and the war of 1812. That means some private Citizen would already have to possess cannon and trained gun crews to operate them. Without both neither is effective.
Secondly nearly every merchant ship of the day carried cannon. As did frontier forts in the interior. These cannon were privately owned.
Neither of these points is ambiguous. The historical record is clear on both points.
And private groups formed their own regiments and purchased their own weapons, which included cannon.
Well, one thing is certain, marxist311 is not capable of discerning the decline of the half wit on his best day Joe Biden.
Stupid is as stupid does.
I’m not really sure how an obscure point about cannons has to do with Bidens mental state.
@Barry
Can you even read? I explicitly said that Biden has slowed down, I’ve made a distinction between someone of an elderly age and dementia. You absolute moron.
Mark,
You stated that Biden ‘makes coherent sense when talking including details from prior events…’
In this example Biden was coherent enough to communicate a deliberate falsehood in order to buttress support for his policy preferences OR he was not coherent and was simply rambling.
I have made zero comparisons to DJT. We are discussing your contention that Biden is coherent. This example shows he is not or that he choose to state untruths.
I guess it’s tough to hear what Biden is actually saying from a position down below and to his rear.
Mark, you have got to be ****ing kidding me. Biden just showed that the bill is not “a good example of compromise”, it’s a fraud. He’s not trying to “keep the peace” or to “balance” anything, he’s openly announced that he will regard the “compromise” bill and the reconciliation bill as one package that he will only sign if it’s all there. And that means the “compromise” is no compromise at all. Nothing is being balanced, and he’s spitting in the Republicans’ faces. How can you call that “consensus building”?
I just gave a reason why I think its a political move, I may turn out to be wrong but it is a valid reason. I’m not clear how you could infer private dynamics to public speech.
Well whatever it is one thing it is not is a demonstration of ‘good faith negotiation’.
I have no idea what that even means. Whatever language it’s in, it’s not English.
Vote it down too.
Pass it through both houses and make him veto it because it doesn’t have all the pork loaded into it.
But that’s just the point. He said he will sign it, but only once the reconciliation bill passes with all the garbage that got cut out of this bill. And the Rs don’t have the numbers to stop the reconciliation bill. Which means cutting it out of this bill is just a meaningless sleight of hand meant to fool R voters.
Yes, this. Only way there’s a veto is if somehow the porked-up, nothing-to-do-with-actual-infrastructure reconciliation bill that comes after fails, because the infrastructure agreement will be considered first.
Unless there’s a Dem rebellion in the House, the infrastructure agreement will get through the House and then Schumer will double-dog-dare 11 Republicans to oppose cloture.
If the infrastructure agreement gets through the House and Senate, at that point Senate Republicans will be relying on one of Manchin or Sinema to vote no on reconciliation. If they both vote yes, Harris makes it 51-50 and game over.
Why do you think the Republican legislators who went in the “compromise” infrastructure bill were gullible? Maybe they knew this all along. Maybe they helped create the strategy to then go to reconciliation. In this way, it looks like all they are voting for is infrastructure spending, while the whole enchilada moves through., that is, it’s just a ploy to given them cover.
And maybe your grandmother wears army boots. There’s no factual basis for any of your speculation.
More kubuki theatre. Though the Senate parliamentarian has already ruled on reconciliation; it can only be used once in a budget cycle without tearing up everything that went before.
Biden could pocket veto this bill or directly veto the bill. As the bill hasn’t yet passed all is speculation.
The truth is the whole enchilada of the original d/progressive wishlist can be delayed until the next budget cycle and using reconciliation can be jammed through with a simple majority.
The question is will that actually happen? The only true thing in politics is that politicians will read the temperature of their constituents and make calculated decisions based on what benefits them.
If passage via reconciliation benefits 50 Senators it passes, if not it won’t. Same for the proposed infrastructure bill though with 60 votes if it isn’t pushed back to reconciliation maneuver.
You don’t think they won’t simply just pass a second budget? Take the previous one and tweak things as necessary while they add the new stuff?
No, it isn’t that simple. To use reconciliation again for the current budget cycle means the current funding stops and the process restarts from scratch. Back to day zero in appropriations committee and the various committees of jurisdiction. Every committee goes back to square one.
That’s too big a mess. It would literally undo what they have already done this year. Why create chaos when a little patience gets it done without the chaos?
@commochief
Interesting thanks, that feeds into my thought process. I think the reconciliation comment is a tactic to appease the left from Biden. We shall see I guess
Here’s what actual compromise and consensus would work: The Republicans who sign on to the agreement promise to vote for the compromise bill, and the Democrats who sign on to it promise to vote against the reconciliation bill that includes the garbage they’ve agreed to give up. That would be an example of honest consensus-finding. Unless all those Dems promise to vote against the second bill, their “compromise” on this bill is a fraud.
Which might actually happen. If a deal isn’t a deal then that cuts both ways. Biden undercut all ten of the negotiators with his demands.
None of them can be too thrilled that Biden agreed to support the compromise then demanded that everything he conceded be taken up and passed in a companion bill.
That doesn’t bode well for future negotiations with the administration. Blowing up a bipartisan compromise six months into the term seems stupidly shortsighted, IMO.
Should be interesting to watch as it unfolds.
@milhouse
That’s a fair idea
What, you mean that the Democrats did what they always do, and all their bullshit about ‘bipartisanship’ was just theatre for the cameras, then at the last minute demand they demanded the RINOs give them everything that they wanted anyway?
They played the stupid RIONs for fools. AGAIN. What a fucking shock.
Good. Don’t want either of them anyway.
Nice job Portman, is this your retirement gift to Buyden and the left. You’re quitting the senate meaning that you’ll never have to defend this load of pork. Lisa, this is also a parting gift since you’ll be out after the primary next year.
I was happy with the infrastructure bill. But no way on the reconciliation, I’d rather have all the roads fall apart and all the bridges collapse.
Kill both bills then.
This “infrastructure” bill is loaded with socialist ideological agenda items that should never be allowed to become law.
As usual, D’s stuff unrelated garbage into every bill they can.
Did Biden ever say before all the negotiations this bill would be held hostage to the insane bill?
Okay, does anyone find it hilarious that Smarmy McMittens was just caught in a scene that will forever undermine his (already abysmal) chance of ever being president? What a freaking moron he is. Standing there grinning like an imbecile as Biden implies that he and the other assembled RINOs support the reconciliation bill. He says he doesn’t but then, it’s Romney, he’ll flip flop ten times before he tries to run again in 2024.
Biden owned these RINOs, and Romney is the stupidest one of all.