Topline
Republican lawmakers who support a bipartisan infrastructure package criticized House GOP leadership in interviews with Forbes for their attempts to kill the $1.2 trillion package, underscoring broader divisions among Republicans.
Key Facts
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who helped shepherd the bill through the Senate, where it got 19 Republican votes, was candid in a brief Capitol Hill interview, telling Forbes he “cannot understand” why the House GOP is whipping against the bill, calling the move “pure stupidity.”
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s office has said the infrastructure bill is “inextricably linked” with a massive social spending package Democrats are trying to pass without GOP support, but says Cassidy, “it’s a separate vote, isn’t it?” adding, “I don’t know any other way to describe de-linkage.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a closed-door caucus meeting Monday that Democrats “cannot be ready” to wait for the social spending bill to pass both chambers before they vote on infrastructure, according to a source familiar with her remarks – defying a key demand of progressives, who say they have dozens of votes to sink the infrastructure bill.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), one of eight House Republicans who have told Forbes they plan to vote for the infrastructure bill, said in a brief interview on Tuesday, “I think our conference is mistaken on this one. That’s my take on it.”
“When they say they’re linked, I don’t know how you say that when they’re two seperate votes,” Bacon said, adding that he and his colleagues can “vote ‘no’ on one and ‘yes’ on the other” and that he’s a “definite no” on the social spending bill.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who worked with Cassidy and other Senate moderates to craft the package, said it would be a “disaster” for the country, and for Republicans, if the infrastructure bill fails, telling Forbes, “If Republicans can’t support this, if Democrats can’t support this, what is it that we can support?”
Key Background
Several moderate House Republicans have told Forbes they are on the fence about the infrastructure bill because of the perception it is linked with the social spending bill. “The bottom line is, Nancy Pelosi has said she’s going to intertwine three times as much spending on a lot of things I don’t support,” Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) said.
Crucial Quote
“We should be about benefiting the the American people before politics... It’s not because of the policy,” Cassidy said of House Republicans’ opposition to the infrastructure bill, noting that it has been endorsed by pro-business and conservative groups like the Chamber of Commerce. “If you do it strictly on the merits, on the policy and the positive things it does for the United States of America, then you vote ‘yes.’ If you’ve got other considerations, aside from what’s good… for America, then you vote ‘no.’”
Tangent
Democrats are no less divided than Republicans on infrastructure and reconciliation. Though Pelosi has said there will be an infrastructure vote on Thursday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are “very clear that they want the reconciliation bill completely done, agreed-to, passed” before they support infrastructure. Meanwhile, progressive activists plan to launch “flotilla” protests at moderate Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) houseboat every day until Friday to urge him to support a robust social spending package, a Greenpeace spokesperson told Forbes.
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September 29, 2021 at 12:44AM
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‘Pure Stupidity’: Republicans Break With Leadership Over Effort To Kill $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill - Forbes
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