This Week in Congress

President Biden’s prospects for passing a major infrastructure bill through Congress with bipartisan support continued to increase this week; however, Republican Senators and the Biden administration could not  reach an agreement on how much to spend on the package, or how to pay for it.  Per Sen. Capito (R-WV) leading the charge on the infrastructure package, “I would say there is progress, but we still have a ways to go.” Sen. Capito and a handful of other GOP Senators met with Transportation Secretary Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Raimondo along with senior White House aides in negotiations that followed a session hosted by President Biden last week. Sen. Blunt (R-MO) stated that the discussion included having a way to tax those who drive electric vehicles, either a vehicle miles traveled tax or an annual fee, against the gasoline tax that’s in place today.  To date, the White House has opposed applying user fees to fund the infrastructure bill, arguing that it hurts lower-income Americans.