Photo: Doug Mills-Pool / Getty Images
President Joe Biden welcomed the Democratic and Republican leaders of both houses of Congress on Wednesday at the White House, where they discussed the plan of infrastructure-focused employment of the president for nearly two hours, but they made little progress in reaching consensus.
This was the first time in his presidency that Biden met in person with the so-called Big 4: the Democratic leader of the Senate Majority, Chuck Schumer, of New York, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, of California, and Senate Republican Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky and the House. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy from California. Vice President Kamala Harris also attended the meeting, which took place in the Oval Office.
“Today we are going to talk a lot about infrastructure. And let’s see if there is any way to come to a compromise that does people’s work and is within the bounds of everyone agreeing, “said Biden at the beginning of the meeting between representatives of both houses .
After the meeting, McCarthy and McConnell spoke briefly with reporters.
McConnell said almost The entire conversation with the president revolved around his infrastructure-focused employment plan and that there is “a bipartisan desire to get a result. ”
But he added that the two parties still needed to“ define what infrastructure is, ”suggesting that had not made significant progress in the most basic elements of a negotiation.
A reading of the White House meeting said that the attendees had “agreed that there was a need for investment n ”on infrastructure, but they cited no other progress.
Pelosi sounded the most optimistic of attendees, and said after the meeting that he felt “more optimistic now that we will do in a bipartisan way. But we’ll see. ”
The first piece of Biden’s national policy agenda in two parts is the $ 2.3 billion American Employment Plan , targeting a wide range of infrastructure spending that encompasses both traditional projects and highways, as well as more progressive efforts such as broadband expansion.
Republicans have opposed Biden’s plan to classify projects such as electric vehicle charging stations and expanded broadband as “Infrastructure.”
McConnell also reiterated the Republican Party’s firm red line on the increase in the corporate tax rate , which was drastically reduced by 2017 under then-President Donald Trump, to fund any of Biden’s proposals.
“We are not interested in reopening the tax law of 2017. We both made it clear with the president. That’s our red line, ”McConnell said. “This discussion … will not include the revision of the tax law of 2017.”
The second part of Biden’s agenda is the $ 1.8 Trillion American Family Plan , which proposes funding for an additional four years of free universal education, the child care subsidy for middle class families and expand paid family leave and child tax credits.
During his presidential campaign, Biden promised to cross the hall and find areas of consensus between the two sides, something he said would help mend the deeply divided nation.
Yet Republicans say the only way Biden could hope to win bipartisan support for any part of his agenda Legislative is reducing its infrastructure plan to less than half its size current year, and not funding it with corporate tax increases, as proposed by Biden . but with user fees for drivers and users of public transport.
Regarding the family and child care plan, so far they have Few, if any, areas of compromise have emerged.
Biden also found himself searching for common ground with a fractured Republican Party, further complicating the political calculus.
Wednesday’s meeting took place a few hours after House Republicans ousted Representative Liz Cheney from her post as president of the Republican conference for her refusal to accept Trump’s lie that the elections of 2020 were rigged.