Progressive Dems express dismay over Biden’s infrastructure plan

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Some progressive Democrat lawmakers were frustrated over the fact that President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan was still lacking in budget to finance some of their programs.
• MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting said that Biden was missing out on passing a comprehensive package.
• The White House is still confident that the measure will be passed at the Senate.

The billions-worth infrastructure package of President Joe Biden has left several progressive Democrats frustrated for reasons that it was not ample enough to fund some of their initiatives such as the Green New Deal climate project.

Some progressive Democrats wanted a bigger, trillion-dollar bill in a bid to address the fossil fuel dependency.

“This is an opportunity that we cannot let go by,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR.) told the media as ‘Go Bigger’ banners were being waved outside the Capitol Tuesday. 

“People need help—they need investment from the federal government,” he added.

The bill is set to be put on a vital vote on Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Some GOP lawmakers who were involved in the bipartisan negotiations, though, said that the vote could commence even before they reach a final agreement.

In response to the idea of minimizing the package budget, the Oregon lawmaker said: “it essentially, with a little green on the side, would lock us into the failed policies of the last century.”

MoveOn.org progressive campaign executive director Rahna Epting said that the Biden administration is missing its opportunity to enact an all-encompassing plan.

“We won the election, we protected the results and now it’s time for Democrats and all of us to deliver,” she said.

Meanwhile, the White House remains confident in passing the president’s infrastructure plan.

“I will reiterate that we absolutely support the steps by Leader Schumer to move forward. We believe that it’s not only achievable, but we owe it to the families in red states and blue states who have waited so long for improvements to their lives—less time wasted in traffic, ensuring that every American, including underserved rural areas, get access to broadband,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during Tuesday’s press briefing. 

One main issue of the GOPs is that Democrat negotiators have not yet finalized where the budget would emanate to finance the $600 billion infrastructure allocation that Biden was pushing.

To move forward with the deal, the proposal needs to reach at least 60 votes in the Senate. Democrats would be needing some support from their Republican colleagues at the Senate to get this done.

Source: Newsweek