A group of Senate Republicans unveiled their answer to President Biden’s $2.5 trillion “infrastructure” package on Thursday, with a much more modest price tag. The GOP plan amounts to $585 billion over a five-year period, and boasts a “forward leaning vision.” The effort to match the Biden administration with real infrastructure plans is led by GOP Senator Shelley Moore-Capito (R-WV), with Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA), John Barrasso (R-WY), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Mike Crapo (R-ID) co-sponsoring the legislation, among other lawmakers.
Senate Republicans prepare to unveil GOP infrastructure counter-offer.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) April 22, 2021
$568 billion over 5 years. Note the section defining what infrastructure is ???? pic.twitter.com/mRjZkWDoz7
The framework for the package includes funding for real infrastructure, as opposed to unrelated line-items:
$299B for roads and bridges
$61B for public transit
$65B for broadband infrastructure
$44B for airports
$35B for drinking water and wastewater
$20B for rail systems
$13B for safety
$17B ports and inland waters
$14B for water storage
The lawmakers made clear that the Republican-led plan is strictly focused on traditional infrastructure.
What Democrats are proposing is a job-crushing, partisan slush fund.
— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) April 22, 2021
Senate Republicans are for real infrastructure -- roads, bridges, highways, and cleaner water.
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President Biden claimed that he hoped to pass the hefty infrastructure package proposed by Democrats with at least some Republican support, but the American Rescue Plan in its current form is unlikely to gain support from any Senate Republicans.