Senate Republicans Plan Revised Infrastructure Counteroffer

billion for broadband, while Republicans’ counterproposal includes $65 billion for connectivity (see 2104220067). “We'll see if we can work out some … compromise on infrastructure,” Biden told reporters at the start of the meeting. “And I know” the Republicans are “sincere about it, so am I.” Biden asked the Republicans to “come back with another” counteroffer next week “with more granularity to it” than the initial proposal they released last month, said Senate Public Works Committee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia. She said the counterproposal could include more money. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California told reporters Wednesday that chamber’s GOP caucus intends to release its own counterproposal of less than $800 billion as soon as next week. Biden “left a lot of room for us to negotiate,” Capito said. “I made it clear that this was not a stagnant offer from us” and “he made it clear that he’s sincere in wanting to pursue this. And in the end, we agreed that if it doesn’t work, we’ll walk away friends.” Wicker said “we’re getting somewhere” in discussions, including a robust discussion about using public-private partnerships as a way to pay for infrastructure spending. “We should know before Memorial Day whether there’s a deal to be had or not,” said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri. “If I was the White House, I wouldn’t want to go much beyond Memorial Day unless I thought we were down to the final details. But two weeks is a long time if you want to make something happen.”