There’s a long way to go to pass this bipartisan infrastructure deal, but it’s important to take a moment to remember how we got here.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) writes in the WSJ that while the two previous presidents “advocated robust programs to invest in infrastructure” but failed “because of partisan disagreements on how to pay for it,” this time, “a bipartisan group of senators said we could support a real infrastructure bill” limited to “core infrastructure.”
Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) agrees. He told MSNBC, “At the end of the day, we’re going to bring it across the finish line, and it’s going to take Democrats and Republicans. And that's exactly what the Problem Solvers Caucus is about. … [The American people] want to know that we can actually get things done, and this is going to be a great example when this is signed into law.”
This morning at 10:00, the Problem Solvers Caucus will host a news conference touting the “historic bipartisan infrastructure deal” as one that “will create jobs, strengthen our economy, protect our environment, and improve the quality of life for Americans.”
President Biden’s commitment to reaching across the aisle was also tested by the infrastructure battle, the NYT says, and this week “was a vindication of his faith in bipartisanship.” The president “has held up the promise of a broad infrastructure accord not just as a policy priority but as a test of the fundamental rationale for his presidency.”
A memo by White House senior advisor Mike Donilon stating that “Americans want legislators to come together on a bipartisan deal” and that “there is broad support for solving the country’s infrastructure problems -- and the American people believe that the parties find the best solutions when they meet in the middle” cites our recent No Labels/HarrisX poll, which found that 72% of voters in key congressional districts want the deal passed.
In an editorial, the WaPo writes, “Maybe Congress can get big things done on behalf of the American people after all.” Vox calls the bill “a big deal,” saying it “would genuinely impact many people’s lives.”
But the fight isn’t over yet. The Hill says Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), who chairs the Transportation Committee, “is leery of the message coming out of the White House as it races to rally support” behind the deal, and Politico says progressives are making “public threats to sink the bipartisan bill” as moderates urge Speaker Pelosi “to drop her blockade of the upper chamber's infrastructure deal.” Meanwhile, far right groups are attacking the bill, and so, of course, is Donald Trump -- who said any Republicans who support it will look “weak, foolish and dumb.”
There’s traffic ahead, but we’ve come too far to turn this car around and go home.