Time for Infrastructure Talks 'Not Unlimited': Psaki

The White House signaled Monday time is running short for talks between President Joe Biden and Senate Republicans on infrastructure spending. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden plans to talk with Senate Public Works Committee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., before he leaves Wednesday for a weeklong state visit in Europe. “The time is not unlimited here” for talks to continue with Republicans, but many paths remain available for an infrastructure compromise, Psaki told reporters. Biden “made clear” when he talked to Capito Friday (see 2106040073) that a new GOP counterproposal, which increased the infrastructure spending offer by $50 billion, “didn’t meet his own bar. But we’re open to where the discussion goes.” Biden “has come down by about $1 trillion” from the plan he first proposed in March (see 2103310064), while Republicans have “come up by a small percentage,” Psaki said: The White House agrees with the GOP on $65 billion for broadband (see 2105270072), but it's still "an important part of the negotiation." The White House eyes other potential infrastructure measures as a compromise, including a coming bipartisan plan pursued by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Psaki said.