Bipartisan Legislation

$3.5 Trillion Budget Could Bring Climate Change-Fighting Policies

August 26, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“The House must pass the budget resolution immediately,” said House Speaker Nancy Policy to U.S. House of Representatives Democrats this month. “Doing so will maximize the leverage of our caucus in the budget process, allowing us to proceed first in crafting the [budget] reconciliation bill.”

Pelosi has been working to gain Democrat support regarding a $3.5 trillion budget plan to boost the agenda of the Biden Administration–an agenda including major topics like greenhouse gas reduction and social aid programs and policies. Pelosi also says she’s working toward connecting the budget reconciliation legislation with a previously-passed $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

House Democratic leaders are expected to start discussions of these budget plans with their committees ahead of scheduled voting.

“Our caucus remains united in realizing President Biden’s vision to build back better: creating more jobs, cutting taxes, and lowering health care costs for working families,” Pelosi added. “While the bipartisan [Senate] infrastructure bill offers important progress, it is not reflective of the totality of Democrats’ vision.”

The chamber’s transportation committee is likely to help advance policies within these budget plans as they pertain to severe-weather resilience infrastructure, noted top transportation policymaker of the House, Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

“I have consistently advocated for increased federal investment in America’s infrastructure,” he said. “By investing in our infrastructure, we can create good-paying jobs, support American manufacturing, stop sending jobs to China, and strengthen the economy.”

Safer infrastructure and climate crisis-fighting policies will be DeFazio’s main focus, he added.

“I’m committed to continuing to fight for transformational funding and policies in the [budget] reconciliation process that will reduce carbon pollution from the transportation sector, support American manufacturing and ingenuity, and create infrastructure that is smarter, safer, and made to last,” he said.

Committees will now work to configure a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan after the Senate offered partisan budget package approval; committees will be expected to develop their budget bill portion by mid-September, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted. This bill in particular is also sponsored by Bernie Sanders, Budget Committee Chairman.

“We will take on the existential threat of climate change by transforming our energy systems toward renewable energy and energy efficiency,” Sanders said. “With Democrats in control of the Senate, we will use reconciliation to benefit the working class.”

The reconciliation measure within the legislative packages presented by congressional committees will aim to require a simple majority for passage and avoid a Senate filibuster. The Senate’s budget assignment will require further investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, severe-weather infrastructure, environmental research programs, and emission technologies to be proposed by the panels which have jurisdiction over highways and freight affairs.

In fact, the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over trucking policy, will be urged to recommend investments of $83 billion in research, manufacturing, economic development, transportation technologies, and coastal infrastructure projects.

For fuel-efficient port construction, environmental justice projects, energy-efficient building construction, climate equity programs, and alternative energy vehicle investments, the Environment and Public Works Committee is also required to propose a $67 billion plan. The Environment and Public Works Committee has jurisdiction over surface transportation policy.

Significant Diesel Emissions Reduction Act funding has also received backing from the Environmental and Public Works panel, the leaders of which claim that this funding will be “a strong federal commitment to state and local air quality grant programs as a mechanism to assist state and local governments in implementing and complying with federal environmental requirements.”

These budget plans have received strong backing from the chairman of the Environment and Public Works panel, Senator Tom Carper of Delaware.

“We move forward with a budget that helps working families in Delaware and across the country, and we should pay for these investments with smart, common-sense policies that ensure that the wealthiest among us are paying their fair share,” he explained. “In the days ahead, we’ll need to get to work on legislation laid out in the budget that will tackle the climate crisis, create good-paying jobs, advance environmental justice, and build a better, brighter future for all Americans.”

Northeast Corridor Improvement Plan Finally in the Works

July 24, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A 15-year rail improvement plan has been initiated by a coalition of transportation organizations, along with Amtrak, while Congress continues to work toward an infrastructure package agreement.

The plan would bring upgrades to the highly-congested Northeast Corridor in an effort to improve current daily train routes and travel speeds along Acela express lines. However, this plan is only likely to become successful if Congress is able to pass a significant infrastructure spending plan.

The plan, set forth by the Northeast Corridor Commission (a group implemented by Congress in 2008), could be a “mobilizing force” for overall transit updates, and the potential changes that could be made throughout the 450-mile-long rail corridor could boost travel trends and steer them away from fuel-emitting vehicles “as our economy returns to full strength.” It could also help to create around 1.7 million new jobs, according to Federal Railroad Administration deputy administrator and Northeast Corridor commission co-chair, Amit Bose.

President Biden’s original bipartisan infrastructure deal would have offered $80 billion for rail over eight years, with $39 billion allocated directly to the corridor. However, the current Senate bipartisan deal offers $66 billion for rail, although experts aren’t sure exactly how much of that could over the 15-year, $100 billion regional plan.

“The corridor supports more than 800,000 daily passenger trips between the greater Washington, D.C. and Boston regions,” explained commission co-chairman and New Jersey Transit president and CEO, Kevin Corbett. “It is imperative that together, we seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to replace aging assets, add rail capacity, [and] improve performance.”

An $11 billion initiative to upgrade and repair the century-old Hudson River tunnels feeding into New York City would be feasible under this plan, which would serve around 200,000 Amtrak and New Jersey Transit passengers who use these routes every weekday. The plan would also bring funding to long-awaited traffic improvement projects along the corridor, and safety-focused projects for this route would be fast-tracked as well–even being able to begin construction as soon as 2025.

The Trump administration had deemed this project as being too high in cost, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has already voiced his support for these improvements.

Other projects under the plan include expansions to rail stations in New York City; Washington D.C.; Philadelphia; Stamford, Connecticut; and Providence, Rhode Island; as well as the rail line within Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel would also receive funding for improvement projects, as it is currently a major chokepoint for Amtrak and MARC trains running near Baltimore Penn Station. As of now, trains have to slow to 30 miles per hour in the 1.4-mile, two-track tunnel, where the large amount of water in the soil under the tracks often cause floor slabs to sink. New replacement tunnels built through Amtrak and Maryland’s $4 billion plan would allow trains to move at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour through this area.

“The investments in infrastructure laid out in this plan will lead to more modern, reliable, and faster trains, expanded service, and a better customer experience–that will benefit customers, economies, and local communities along the entire Northeast Corridor and beyond,” noted Amtrak president, Stephen Gardner.

By 2035, this plan could boost daily Amtrak service by 33%, double commuter railroad capacity, add 60 million new rail trips each year, and reduce overall travel time from New York to Boston on Acela by 28 minutes and from Washington to New York by 26 minutes. Annual travel time savings within the Northeast Corridor through this plan would be valued at around $140 million.

“For the first time, we have a unified region behind a plan,” added the commission’s executive director, Mitch Warren. “It’s a big step forward for the corridor.”

He may be right–Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised to acquire congressional money for the Hudson River Tunnel project, and the bipartisan deal will likely cover $20 billion for the Northeast Corridor project. The commission approves of Congress’ proposed spending and regards it as a good starting place, and adds that if all of its proposed projects are able to reach completion, the travel time saved and positive environmental impacts will be well worth the money.

Potential $579 Billion Infrastructure Budget Possible Following Senator Efforts

July 6, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“Our group–comprised of 10 senators, five from each party–has worked in good faith and reached a bipartisan agreement on a realistic, compromise framework to modernize our nation’s infrastructure and energy technologies,” said a bipartisan senator group that has been working toward an infrastructure deal in a recent joint statement.

These 10 senators have been pushing for $579 billion in new infrastructure spending while negotiators have been working toward almost $1 trillion in President Joe Biden’s top priority deal. The group has been backed by Biden to continue towards this goal following his refusal of a Republican-supported proposal that would have been lacking in bipartisan compromise.

Now, the senators are discussing potential changes with their colleagues behind closed doors.

“This investment would be fully paid for and not include tax increases,” the senators continued in their statement. “We are discussing our approach with our respective colleagues, and the White House, and remain optimistic that this can lay the groundwork to garner broad support from both parties and meet America’s infrastructure needs.”

Democratic senators have been in discussion with the Biden Administration in regards to the expectations for this plan, but, according to the White House, there are still a few areas of concern.

“The president appreciates the senators’ work to advance critical investments we need to create good jobs, prepare for our clean energy future, and compete in the global economy,” explained Andrew Bates, Deputy Press Secretary. “Questions need to be addressed, particularly around the details of both policy and pay-fors, among other matters.”

The current tentative compromise agreement shows positive movement forward in regards to creating successful legislation in a bipartisan congress during 2021, but lawmakers believe this could still have many caveats. As of now, Congress, along with President Biden, is working to find a way to come to an agreement on infrastructure investment plans regarding how best to pay for a highway and road infrastructure package.

The likely cost, according to a negotiation expert, would be around $974 billion over the next five years, or about $1.2 trillion if the bill is passed as Biden suggests–over an eight year timeframe. A package of such a large size would be much higher than Republicans’ previous proposal of $330 billion in overall new spending funds. However, these numbers would still be short of Biden’s proposed $1.7 trillion in spending over eight years.

The final amount has yet to be released by lead negotiators; Senator Bill Cassidy, who is serving as a negotiator on the bill, was recently asked if spending had hit $600 billion. He responded: “The president said that [number] was his goal. So I don’t think anybody felt like they had to exceed his goal.”

Senators are still facing the same obstacles lead Republican negotiator Senator Shelley Moore Capito has been seeing along with President Biden regarding how best to pay for the infrastructure package. They are “fairly close” to a top-line number, according to Senator Jon Tester, another member of the group. However, they are still deciding the ways in which to accrue these funds, and one possibility includes bringing in revenue from uncollected income taxes.

“We still have to talk [about that],” Tester added.

The package would likely provide $1 trillion with $579 billion in new spending for transportation project baselines, Senator Mike Braun of Indiana said he was told by other Senators. According to Braun, aspects of the package would likely be funded by unused coronavirus relief funds–an asset that has still been a nonstarter for Biden.

“They have come up with [something] similar to what I think Capito was working on, but my understanding is it would be a little more money,” Braun explained

Biden is looking for overall investment in highways, roads, and bridges, in addition to large investments in electric vehicle charging stations and broadband capabilities. These are all parts comprising the new economy as he sees it, which would receive funding from corporate tax rate raises from 21% to 28%. As Biden left for his first overseas trip, he requested that senators continue working on the plan.

Still, though, Republicans are pushing for an infrastructure plan that would focus mostly on upgrading current transportation systems and bring about smaller investments in other areas. They are strongly opposed to funding the new spending with tax raises, with Senator Mitt Romney maintaining that the package would indeed bring gas tax increases to match current inflation rates; as of now, the federal gas tax has not risen since 1993. The group of senators is still claiming that the infrastructure package will not include tax hikes.

Tensions Rise as White House and GOP Struggle to Reach Infrastructure Bill Agreement

June 18, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The Biden Administration is making efforts to work with Republican Senators–who have made known the little wiggle-room they have in regards to their $568 billion proposal–with the goal to come to some bipartisan conclusion surrounding President Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure plans.

Democrats have expressed worries that the amount of time for both parties to finally reach an agreement is coming to an end. However, Republicans have noted that they have in fact raised the number in their plan and have also tried to cooperate with the White House.

“Productive conversations” have been in the works, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and senators were expected to work toward a constructive conclusion alongside White House officials Louisa Terrell, head of legislative affairs, and Steve RIcchetti, senior adviser.

“We’re looking forward to constructive conversations,” Psaki added.

Biden, who has been prioritizing a comprehensive infrastructure plan and has stated his goal to “build back better” in his pledge to help boost the economy following the COVID-19 pandemic era, has been looking to Republicans for cooperation in regards to a bipartisan method of reaching these goals. Because majorities in the House and Senate are Democrats, Biden has sought Republican support instead of solely leaning on his party.

However, Republicans are strongly opposing the corporate tax hike that would come with Biden’s funding plan.

“If they’re willing to settle on targeting an infrastructure bill without revisiting the 2017 tax bill, we’ll work with them,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell in relation to collaborating with Democrats on the issue. Still, though, McConnell noted that a $2 trillion–or larger–package “is not going to have any Republican support.”

This comes while Republicans are clamoring to hold onto the 2017 tax reductions they accomplished during Donald Trump’s presidency, when they brought corporate tax rates down from 35% to 21%. According to McConnell, raising taxes on wealthy Americans or on corporations is never going to receive any backing from Republicans.

As of now, Biden plans to raise corporate taxes back up to 28%.

Because Biden has proposed the two parties find ways to negotiate, Republicans met with White House-dispatched transportation and commerce secretaries in late May to discuss recently-requested additional details on Republicans’ plan for the package. West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito said she felt good about these discussions and planned to hear back from the White House sooner than later.

Still, though, following the White House and Republican meeting which took place just weeks ago, there was “not a significantly changed offer.”

Regardless, Biden has been faring well in the party-to-party discussions, and has not given up on efforts to reach a bipartisan agreement–even though Republicans’ counter offer had no change from their proposal of $568 billion. It does seem, though, that optimism from some of the GOP’s negotiators, such as Capito, has encouraged White House officials.

In regards to possible strategies that have been brought to light, one includes Biden coming to terms with a much more limited road, highway, bridge, and broadband infrastructure bill that would have the potential to please both parties–likely leaning more towards Republicans’ wishes. If this were to take place, Democrats would need to independently focus on climate change proposals and investments pertaining to education, hospitals, and child care.

Some Republicans have suggested dipping into unused coronavirus aid package funds to allocate toward potential infrastructure projects, with further funding coming from public-private partnerships or uncollected tax revenue.

However, a solely infrastructure-based bipartisan proposal, which would consist of far fewer funds than those which Biden has proposed, could mean many Democrats would withdraw their support while under the impression that Biden missed this major opportunity to set forth heavily innovative, transformative, and community-minded legislation.

Biden surely knows this and will likely do what he can to ensure climate change-fighting funds are included in the deal. But, as of now, the two parties have not little-to-no progress in reaching an agreement as both are holding strong to their two differing ideas about the size of the infrastructure package and how to acquire the funding necessary to see it through.