Bipartisan Group of Senators Reaches Agreement on Infrastructure Proposal

Members of a bipartisan group of senators said they had reached an agreement on an infrastructure proposal that would be fully paid for without tax increases, pitching the plan to other lawmakers and the White House as they try to craft compromise legislation on the issue. While the group of 10 senators didn’t reveal details of the plan in its statement, people familiar with the agreement said it called for $579 billion above expected future federal spending on infrastructure. The overall proposal would spend $974 billion over five years and $1.2 trillion if it continued over eight years. To move forward in Congress, the plan would need the buy-in from a broader group of Republicans and Democrats, as well as the White House. In recent days, some Democrats have indicated they are skeptical that the bipartisan talks will result in a large enough package. The compromise package may be paid for by indexing the gas tax to inflation. The federal gasoline tax hasn’t been increased since 1993. The new proposal is also expected to be paid for in part by repurposing funds from previous Covid-aid packages.