Bipartisan infrastructure pitch gains steam on Capitol Hill as President Biden weighs in from Europe

A bipartisan group of senators sketching out an infrastructure proposal expanded their base of support June 16, even as they continue to haggle over how to pay for billions of dollars in new spending in line with President Biden’s vision for a massive overhaul of the nation’s public works system. The initial framework—written by the likes of Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Rob Portman (R-OH) and seven other senators—falls far short of the sweeping infrastructure proposal that President Biden has pitched, yet aims to try to satisfy the president’s hunger for bipartisanship. But their efforts received a big boost when 11 more senators joined the original 10 and said they supported the still-unreleased blueprint of a deal. The group now includes 11 Republicans, nine Democrats, and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats. All told, they account for a fifth of the entire chamber. The proposal calls for $65 billion for broadband infrastructure.