Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Schumer tees up bipartisan infrastructure vote after Republicans urge delay

Published 07/19/2021, 06:42 PM
Updated 07/19/2021, 08:55 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to news reporters following the announcement of a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2021.  REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to news reporters following the announcement of a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

(Refiles to add dropped word "vote" in paragraph 1)

By David Morgan and Makini Brice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday he would set a procedural vote on a bipartisan infrastructure package that is a key part of Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda for Wednesday, increasing pressure on negotiators as they struggled with ways to pay for the cost of the measure.

Schumer said the Wednesday vote did not require Senate negotiators hammer out every provision in the bill by then and that Democratic leaders of the bipartisan group supported his approach.

"The motion to proceed on Wednesday is simply about getting the legislative process started here on the Senate floor. It is not a deadline to determine every final detail of the bill," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

The announcement came as Republicans urged Schumer to delay the Wednesday vote if the legislation was not yet fully written.

"If he moves ahead arbitrarily, before they actually come to some sort of a deal, then yeah, all it's going to do is drag it out, make it harder to get a deal in the end," Senator John Thune, the chamber's No. 2 Republican, told reporters.

Thune said provisions for covering the cost of the bill were "a long ways from being ready."

It was unclear if the bipartisan bill under negotiation could garner the necessary 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to advance.

Republican Senator Rob Portman, one of the leaders of the group, has said he would vote against the bill if legislation was not ready. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has said that the upper chamber should not vote on agreeing to debate a bill before senators see the text of it.

Portman said on Sunday the group had scuttled a proposal for the Internal Revenue Service to step up its pursuit of tax cheats.

But Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who was one of the members of the bipartisan group, suggested the group had not made a final decision to jettison the tax proposal, telling reporters: "Who said we're taking the IRS enforcement out?"

Senators in the group said they had met late into Sunday evening and had planned to meet again for hours on Monday. They said they were considering provisions to reinstate fees on chemicals to fund the Superfund program, which cleans up contaminated waste sites, as well as other possible fees to cover costs.

Democratic Senator Jon Tester said he thought the group could have legislative text by Wednesday, Tester told reporters.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to news reporters following the announcement of a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2021.  REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

Schumer has said infrastructure was moving on two tracks. Aside from the first, bipartisan track, Democrats are also moving forward with a different $3.5 trillion infrastructure package using a procedural tool known as reconciliation. It allows certain bills to advance through the Senate with only a simple majority of votes, instead of the 60 needed for most legislation.

Republicans oppose the second track.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.