Joe Biden meets politicians to discuss US$2 trillion jobs and infrastructure proposal
- Biden is pushing a jobs and infrastructure proposal worth more than US$2 trillion, branded the American Jobs Plan
- Republicans in Congress say the bill Biden has proposed is too big and most oppose raising corporate taxes
“I am prepared to compromise and prepared to see what we can do and what we can come together on,” Biden said at the outset of the meeting. “I’ve noticed everybody’s for infrastructure. The question is, who’s going to pay for it?”
The group is made up of five Democrats, four Republicans and one independent. Senators include John Hickenlooper John Hoeven, Angus King, Mitt Romney, and Jeanne Shaheen. House Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, Charlie Crist, Carlos Giménez, Kay Granger and Norma Torres will also attend.
Biden said he selected a group of former local leaders because they know how to get things done. Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also a former mayor, was also at the meeting.
Giménez voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results after the January 6 storming of the US Capitol by supporters of former US president Donald Trump.
Monday’s meeting marks the second time Biden will host a bipartisan group of politicians to try to craft an infrastructure bill both parties will support. The White House’s welcoming on Monday of a lawmaker who tried to block Biden’s presidency outright highlights the hurdles to doing so.
