President Joe Biden in a mid-May meeting with Republicans at the White House to discuss the infrastructure plan.
Photo: TJ Kirkpatrick / Getty Images
Republicans and the Biden Administration are $ 750 billion away from reaching a budget agreement to approve in a bipartisan way the infrastructure plan promoted by the president and his team.
The minority in the United States Congress is not willing to give in to Biden’s intentions for the moment as part of the discussion of the “American Jobs Plan”, one of the pillars of his “Build Back Better” platform to lift the economy together with the “American Families Plan” and the already approved “American Rescue Plan.”
Biden’s offer to establish an increase in corporate taxes of 15% instead of 28% it doesn’t please the Republicans.
The Democratic president’s idea is that, in exchange for the above, his political rivals embrace the $ 1 trillion proposal for new infrastructure spending, although Biden has not completely thrown in the towel on the $ 1.7 trillion figure.
The initial amount of the infrastructure plan was $ 2.3 billion, but in the end the White House lowered it to $ 1.7 billion to try to reach an agreement with the Republicans, who continue to reject the project.
Proposal to reduce the amount of the package to $ 1 billion
A Republican Party source quoted by CNN television on Thursday indicated that Biden proposed to Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito, leader of the minority in the negotiations, to reduce the amount of the package to $ 1 billion dollars, as long as they are new funds, and not redirected from other items approved by Congress.
This figure would be closer to the counter offer presented by the Republicans in the Senate of $ 928,000 million dollars.
Biden wants to tax big companies
The 15% suggested by the Biden Administration seek that multinational companies like Amazon that currently pay very little taxes or nothing to the US Government assume greater tax responsibility.
In the opinion of the White House press spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, her boss’s proposal must be completely acceptable to Republicans who want to maintain the tax cuts for corporations provided in the 2017 tax reform under the Donald Trump administration. .
However, the spokesperson said they are open to other options as long as they do not involve raising taxes for those who earn $ 400,000 or less.
Republicans and Biden meet again this Friday to discuss infrastructure plan
The parties are expected to meet again today to continue conversations.
But, Republicans don’t seem to be giving in.
Yesterday, the head of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, ruled at an event in Kentucky that Biden’s latest offer to finance the package would convince members of his delegation.
“And I think it is difficult to sell to the Democrats,” said McConnell, as quoted by the Efe news agency.
Democrats give Republicans 10-day ultimatum to agree to bipartisan legislation
In view of the stalemate in the processes, Democrats are already giving Republicans ultimatums on the time to agree on bipartisan legislation.
Democratic Senator Ben Cardin indicated that his Party will give Republicans about 10 days before making moves that lead to the approval of the package through the reconciliation mechanism under which Democrats can pass a simple majority bill, that is, 50 votes plus one. This would allow the majority to pass the legislation without Republican votes.
“At any moment it is very possible that the Republicans will say, ‘wait a minute, you are going to do it your way or you are not going to do anything,” the senator was quoted as saying by Politico. “It is also possible that the Democrats will say: ‘You do it your way, or else we will.’ I hope that is not the case, “the legislator pointed out.
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