Biden Cleans Up Remarks That Nearly Sunk Bipartisan Infrastructure Agreement

President said he would work on passage of both bipartisan infrastructure proposal, separate "reconciliation" package

It's been a flurry of activity at the White House since President Biden made some remarks which have nearly scuttled the scaled-back version of his infrastructure initiative which late this week won bipartisan support.

The president declared that he would not sign the deal he’d just endorsed unless a separate bill including his other domestic priorities arrived on his desk, too. 

That appeared to enrage some of the Republicans who appeared to waver in their backing of the bipartisan, $1.2 trillion deal, which Biden described as the “largest investment in infrastructure in history, the biggest investment in rail since the creation of Amtrak, and the largest investment in transit ever.

“It would fix roads and bridges, make critical investments in our clean energy future, and help this country compete with China and other economic rivals,” Biden said in a White House statement Saturday. “It would replace lead water pipes in our schools and houses, and connect every American to high-speed internet. It would create millions of high-paying jobs that could not be outsourced.”

Biden Saturday sought to clarify his remarks and his stance on the differing pieces of legislation.

“In the days since, the primary focus in Washington has not been about the Plan’s scope, scale or provisions—but rather, how it relates to other legislation before Congress: my American Families Plan,” he added. “The American Families Plan—which would make historic investments in education, health care, child care, and tax cuts for families, coupled with other investments in care for our seniors, housing, and clean energy—has broad support with the American people, but not among Republicans in Congress.

“I have been clear from the start that it was my hope that the infrastructure plan could be one that Democrats and Republicans would work on together, while I would seek to pass my Families Plan and other provisions through the process known as reconciliation,” Biden said, referring to a process for budget legislation in the Senate which is immune from an opposition filibuster. “There has been no doubt or ambiguity about my intention to proceed this way.

“At a press conference after announcing the bipartisan agreement, I indicated that I would refuse to sign the infrastructure bill if it was sent to me without my Families Plan and other priorities, including clean energy. That statement understandably upset some Republicans, who do not see the two plans as linked; they are hoping to defeat my Families Plan—and do not want their support for the infrastructure plan to be seen as aiding passage of the Families Plan,” the president said. “My comments also created the impression that I was issuing a veto threat on the very plan I had just agreed to, which was certainly not my intent.

“So to be clear: our bipartisan agreement does not preclude Republicans from attempting to defeat my Families Plan; likewise, they should have no objections to my devoted efforts to pass that Families Plan and other proposals in tandem. We will let the American people—and the Congress—decide,” Biden said. “The bottom line is this: I gave my word to support the Infrastructure Plan, and that’s what I intend to do. I intend to pursue the passage of that plan, which Democrats and Republicans agreed to on Thursday, with vigor. It would be good for the economy, good for our country, good for our people. I fully stand behind it without reservation or hesitation.”

Democrats and Republicans both would be making a mistake if they were to oppose the compromise infrastructure plan for their own reasons, according to the president.

“Some other Democrats have said they might oppose the Infrastructure Plan because it omits items they think are important: that is a mistake, in my view. Some Republicans now say that they might oppose the infrastructure plan because I am also trying to pass the American Families Plan: that is also a mistake, in my view,” he said. “I intend to work hard to get both of them passed, because our country needs both—and I ran a winning campaign for President that promised to deliver on both. No one should be surprised that that is precisely what I am doing.”