Airport Alert: Biden-Harris Team Releases Its Counterproposal for Infrastructure Negotiations
May 21, 2021
As bipartisan negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans close in on the Memorial Day deadline set by President Biden, the Biden-Harris team today released its counterproposal to the $568 billion Republican framework for infrastructure.
The new $1.7 trillion proposal from the administration is about $600 billion less than Biden's initial American Jobs Plan, cutting funding toplines for both broadband and surface transportation like roads and bridges, while shifting funding for R&D, supply chains and manufacturing into separate legislation.
In a positive sign, funding for airports does not appear to have been altered or amended in the president's new counterproposal. As we have reported in previous Alerts, there has been support on both sides of the aisle for airport funding, which has been included in every proposal released so far.
However, this counterproposal illustrates how far both sides are from an agreement and could halt any momentum in the bipartisan negotiations. For instance, the White House repeated that it would still like to see major investments in workforce training and the care economy, areas which Republicans do not believe is in the scope of "traditional" infrastructure. Most importantly, the White House reiterated that corporate tax increases should be the main funding mechanism for the infrastructure package, something that Republicans have set as their red line in the negotiations.
Not surprisingly, yesterday, aides to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) met again with the Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to discuss using budget reconciliation to move the full $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan. This, combined with today's counterproposal, means it is more likely than not that Democrats are starting to view the partisan reconciliation process as the only viable path to passing an infrastructure package.
Still, it is expected that Senate Republicans and the White House will continue their negotiations into next week. As such, AAAE will continue to advocate for additional airport funding — including increased federal support and an overdue adjustment to the federal cap on local PFCs — in whatever package ultimately is agreed upon.
As bipartisan negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans close in on the Memorial Day deadline set by President Biden, the Biden-Harris team today released its counterproposal to the $568 billion Republican framework for infrastructure.
The new $1.7 trillion proposal from the administration is about $600 billion less than Biden's initial American Jobs Plan, cutting funding toplines for both broadband and surface transportation like roads and bridges, while shifting funding for R&D, supply chains and manufacturing into separate legislation.
In a positive sign, funding for airports does not appear to have been altered or amended in the president's new counterproposal. As we have reported in previous Alerts, there has been support on both sides of the aisle for airport funding, which has been included in every proposal released so far.
However, this counterproposal illustrates how far both sides are from an agreement and could halt any momentum in the bipartisan negotiations. For instance, the White House repeated that it would still like to see major investments in workforce training and the care economy, areas which Republicans do not believe is in the scope of "traditional" infrastructure. Most importantly, the White House reiterated that corporate tax increases should be the main funding mechanism for the infrastructure package, something that Republicans have set as their red line in the negotiations.
Not surprisingly, yesterday, aides to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) met again with the Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to discuss using budget reconciliation to move the full $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan. This, combined with today's counterproposal, means it is more likely than not that Democrats are starting to view the partisan reconciliation process as the only viable path to passing an infrastructure package.
Still, it is expected that Senate Republicans and the White House will continue their negotiations into next week. As such, AAAE will continue to advocate for additional airport funding — including increased federal support and an overdue adjustment to the federal cap on local PFCs — in whatever package ultimately is agreed upon.
