White House & Senate Negotiate Infrastructure Package Bottom Line

On May 21, the Biden Administration offered a pared-down infrastructure bill as a countermeasure to the $568 billion bill introduced by Republicans earlier in the year. The new White House bill cuts the overall cost from the original infrastructure proposal by $600 million—bringing the new total to $1.7 trillion, down from $2.3 trillion. To facilitate the lower price tag, certain programs from the original package will see funding cuts or will be removed altogether. Some changes in the new proposal include:

• Remove funding for research development, small businesses and investments into supply chain improvements. These priorities would be pursued in separate legislation.
• Cut funding for: rural broadband, roads, bridges, and other major infrastructure projects.

On May 25, Senate Republicans indicated that a counteroffer to the Administration's $1.7 trillion proposal will be released later this week. The plan anticipated this Thursday is expected to nearly double from its previous iteration to $1 trillion, but few details over the package have been released.

GFOA’s Federal Liaison Center will continue to monitor this Congressional activity.