WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., warned Wednesday that the bipartisan infrastructure deal struck by lawmakers and President Joe Biden may not have enough support — including from fellow Democrats.
Democratic leaders are trying to navigate competing interests to get agreement in Congress. Getting any legislation across the finish line will be a difficult task and even the current agreement will face several more hurdles before it can become law.
A bipartisan group struck a deal on a $579 billion package. But to keep liberals happy, Democrats are also planning to pass a separate piece of legislation, referred to as a reconciliation bill, on purely partisan lines to fund additional projects.
Murphy, who has been pushing for more funding for climate-focused projects, said if lawmakers aren't allowed to amend the reconciliation bill to add additional spending requests "there is not a path" for it or the bipartisan infrastructure package.
Biden last week announced a deal on a bipartisan infrastructure package, but warned he wouldn't sign it unless a separate budget reconciliation measure was passed "in tandem." He then walked back those comments, saying he would not veto the infrastructure bill without the other legislation.
The bipartisan agreement includes $579 billion in new spending for physical infrastructure that will be used for transit and rail networks, and other investments.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., reiterated Wednesday the House won't vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill until the Senate passes both bills.
"That particular version as it is is something that we would take up once we see what the parameters are of the budget bill that the Senate will pass,” she said
