WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — President Joe Biden met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday to discuss what’s in his proposed infrastructure package and how he plans to pay for it.
The president said he’s willing to work with Republicans to get the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan across the finish line.
“I am prepared to compromise,” Biden said. “It’s a big package but there are a lot of needs.”
Biden invited a group of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to the Oval Office on Monday to discuss the package.
“I asked senators and congressmen who have either been governors and mayors because they know what it’s like to make things work,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris took the administration’s sales pitch on the road. She traveled to North Carolina on Monday to visit an electric school bus plant.
“It’s a once in a lifetime, once in a generation investment in America’s infrastructure,” Harris said.
Money for electric vehicles is just one part of the plan that hasn’t gained Republican support. Lawmakers from both parties are hoping for bipartisanship but don’t know yet how they’ll get there.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said his colleagues support investment in roads and bridges.
“But right now, they’re defining infrastructure in ways that you and I perhaps would not recognize,” he said.
There have been discussions about breaking the proposal down into a smaller package to gain GOP support. Otherwise, Democrats could go it alone.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said the important thing is getting the bill to the president’s desk.
“Folks in Connecticut don’t really care about process,” Murphy said. “They care about whether there are jobs being created.”
President Biden said Monday he hopes Congress can reach a bipartisan agreement.
