The $579 billion package wouldn’t include billions in funding for electric vehicles proposed by the Biden administration.
Washington — An influential group of bipartisan lawmakers in the U.S. House on Tuesday endorsed the $579 billion infrastructure deal struck between Senate members and President Joe Biden. The endorsement adds significant momentum to the package in the lower chamber but potentially endangers the chances of incorporating key priorities for the administration’s agenda, including billions in funding for electric vehicles. The 58-member Problems Solver Caucus has an equal number of lawmakers from each party and includes five Michigan members: Democratic U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell, Elissa Slotkin and Haley Stevens and Republican Reps. Peter Meijer and Fred Upton. The group put out a statement Tuesday saying it «strongly supports» the framework, which was similar to an outline that the group had proposed last month. «In light of the bipartisan, bicameral genesis of the framework, we encourage an expeditious, standalone vote in the House and thank our bipartisan Senate partners and the Biden administration for working so closely with us to demonstrate that cooperation is still possible in Washington,» the statement read. The statement’s call for a standalone vote departs from the plan laid out by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to tie the package’s approval in the House to the Senate taking up a multi-trillion resolution pushed by Democratic leaders that would include priorities such as child care, education, senior care and climate change. An official endorsement by the Problem Solvers — who met last week with White House adviser Steve Ricchetti and legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell — indicates that at least 75% of members signed on, meaning they would vote together on the measure when it reaches the floor. The framework agreed to last month by Biden and a group of 10 bipartisan senators proposes $579 billion in new spending over the next five years, with total expenditures of $973 billion over five years and $1.2 trillion over eight years. That’s significantly less than the administration’s initial $2 trillion proposal, which included funding for traditional infrastructure like roads and bridges but also significant funding for other projects such as retrofitting homes, upgrading child care facilities, research and development on new technology, and improving access to home care for elderly people and people with disabilities.
