US president Joe Biden has urged Republicans to back an ambitious infrastructure plan, as negotiations continued on Capitol Hill on a proposal to upgrade America's creaking infrastructure.
Speaking during a visit to Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday, Mr Biden urged backing for investment in roads, clean energy and education spending – “the generational investments we need today to succeed for tomorrow”.
Noting that America is ranked 13th in the world in terms of infrastructure, he said: "Come on, this is United States of America, for God's sake. We need to invest."
He warned that America is falling behind other countries in its technological and manufacturing abilities.
“We’re in a race to see who wins the 21st century,” he said. “The starting gun has already gone up. We can’t afford to fall any further behind. Now is the time... to make bold investments in our families, our communities and our nation.
"There are millions of jobs in China instead of here," he continued, arguing that America needed to become a net exporter of technology. "If we invest, we can create millions of jobs. One hundred per cent of our investment is going to be guided by one principle – make it in America."
Intensified
He was speaking as negotiations intensified on the president's flagship infrastructure plan, a follow-up to his American Rescue Plan for pandemic relief. Mr Biden has already offered a package worth $1.7 trillion – down from the $2.3 trillion he initially proposed last month. On Thursday, Senate Republicans published their latest counter-proposal of $928 billion, higher than they previously endorsed.
But senator Shelley Moore Caputo, who has been leading discussions on the Republican side, said that the proposal was "sticking to core physical infrastructure" such as roads, bridges and airports, not the inclusion of projects like broadband, climate change measures and education funding that Mr Biden had envisaged.
Sharp differences have also emerged over how to finance the plan. Republicans oppose Mr Biden’s plan to reverse former president Donald Trump’s corporate tax cuts and increase taxes on the wealthy. Instead, they have proposed a redirection of unused Covid relief funds as well as charging user fees.
Mr Biden spoke to Ms Caputo on Thursday and will meet with Republicans next week. Speaking as he landed in Cleveland, he underlined the imperative of reaching a deal soon. "We're going to have to close this down soon," he said.
Wafer-thin
With Democrats holding a wafer-thin majority in the Senate, they are hoping to strike a deal with Republicans to support the package. If not, they will try to use a contentious budget reconciliation move that would allow the legislation to pass with 51 votes, but there are still a handful of Democrats unprepared to support the Bill as it stands.
Press secretary Jen Psaki said that the new Republican offer was "encouraging", noting the White House's appreciation of "the hard work that went into making this proposal and continuing these negotiations". But she added that the proposal "on how to pay for the plan remains unclear", while the Republican plan provides no funds for "critical job-creating needs".
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans were expected to block the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into the January 6th attack on the US Capitol, despite the family of a fallen officer meeting senators ahead of the vote and asking them to back the commission.
