Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is adamant Republican negotiators will not agree to raise taxes to pay for an infrastructure package.
“We’re not raising taxes,” Romney said.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a lead Republican negotiator, also expressed his opposition to raising taxes.
“The last thing we want to do an infrastructure package is to hurt the economy as we come out of COVID, … so taxes would be a huge mistake,” Portman said.
Rob Portman, a lead GOP negotiator, also very clearly against tax increases to pay for package. “The last thing we want to do an infrastructure package is to hurt the economy as we come out of COVID, … so taxes would be a huge mistake,” he told me
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 9, 2021
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) said negotiators are not discussing tax increases. He pointed out it would be difficult to get Democrats to go along with it.
Tester confirms tax increases are not being discussed among negotiators. He also acknowledged how difficult it will be to convince Democrats to go along. But he said that he is giving the talks about a week
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 9, 2021
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden ended negotiations with Republicans and instead will focus on a bipartisan group of lawmakers, as IJR reported.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.) released a statement announcing the end to the talks.
“I spoke with the president this afternoon, and he ended our infrastructure negotiations,” Capito said.
She continued, “Throughout our negotiations, we engaged respectfully, fully, and very candidly — delivering several serious counteroffers that each represented the largest infrastructure investment Republicans have put forth.”
Capito claimed Biden “continued to respond with offers that included tax increases as his pay for, instead of several practical options that would not have been harmful to individuals, families, and small businesses.”
Expressing her appreciation for Biden’s willingness to devote time and effort to the negotiations, she added, “He ultimately chose not to accept the very robust and targeted infrastructure package, and instead, end our discussions.”
Capito also said she is “disappointed” in his decision.
Republican lawmakers came to the table with a $928 billion infrastructure proposal. It includes approximately $330 billion in spending on similar projects.
Biden’s $1.7 trillion spending plan involves increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement, “The latest offer from her group did not, in his view, meet the essential needs of our country to restore our roads and bridges, prepare us for our clean energy future, and create jobs.”
She added, “He offered his gratitude to her for her efforts and good faith conversations, but expressed his disappointment that, while he was willing to reduce his plan by more than $1 trillion, the Republican group had increased their proposed new investments by only $150 billion.”