Fictitious ‘Bipartisan’ Infrastructure Plan Fails Cloture Vote Today, May Be Reconsidered Next Week

Update to Senate To Vote On Fictitious Gang Of Twenty ‘Bipartisan’ Infrastructure Bill On Wednesday: Prediction: The fictitious “bipartisan” infrastructure agreement fails the cloture vote on Wednesday.

Just as I predicted. The vote was 49-51, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer voting with all of the Republicans as a procedural requirement to allow him to bring the bill back later on a motion for reconsideration.

Politico reports, Infrastructure vote fails as senators try to salvage bipartisan deal:

Senate Republicans blocked moving forward on a bipartisan infrastructure bill that’s still being negotiated on Wednesday. Surprisingly, members of the group insist they’re unbothered.

The vote amounted to a setback to a key priority of President Joe Biden, although members of both parties expect at least one more try in the coming days. GOP centrists say they may be willing to provide the votes as early as Monday, when they think discussions will conclude over a bill expected to provide nearly $600 billion.

“We’re a no today because we’re not ready,” said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), the lead Republican negotiator. “We’re saying we do want to take up this bill as soon as we are, and we think that’ll be Monday.”

Portman organized a letter of 11 Republican senators to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) indicating Republicans will put up the votes to beat a filibuster next week. He and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), the lead negotiator, also released a sunny statement in the aftermath of the failed vote pledging that a group of 12 Democrats and 10 Republicans are “optimistic that we will finalize, and be prepared to advance, this historic bipartisan proposal.”

Schumer voted against advancing the proposal, allowing him to bring it up quickly whenever the group clinches a deal. Schumer is carefully trying to give the group a chance to finally clinch its legislation, ensuring he doesn’t alienate moderate Democrats he needs to advance the rest of Biden’s priorities.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a leading Democrat in the group, said he felt “confident” their effort would have the 60 votes to advance over a filibuster by next week. Manchin said “at first I was concerned” that Wednesday’s failed vote might send “the wrong message” about the state of negotiations. But Schumer reassured him that if 60 votes exist to pass it, the vote will come up again.

Schumer “will bring this back to reconsideration if we show him we have the support,” Manchin said on Wednesday.

Republicans’ letter to Schumer stipulates they “intend to [advance] the bill pending final negotiations that are going through right now and on getting a score back” on the bill’s financing, said a Republican senator familiar with the letter. But Republican leaders remain skeptical that the conference will provide the votes to move forward until the group finally produces hundreds of pages of legislative text, which could take days, if not longer, given the difficulties in drafting legislation.

“We’re going to have to have a product. You can’t vote on a framework. There just isn’t the kind of trust around it right now that would allow that to happen,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.).

First of all, this statement is bullshit. Congress votes on “shell” bills all the time that are later filled in with a manager’s amendment or substitute bill. This was just a vote to begin debate, not a vote on the bill. Secondly, Republicans have wasted enough of everyone’s time. Let the Democrats in the Gang of Twenty write the bill, because they know how to draft legislation. Their skills have not atrophied because they have not abandoned governance, like Republicans have.

The Republicans supportive of moving forward as early as Monday include Portman and GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Todd Young of Indiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Mitt Romney of Utah, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, a new addition to supporters on the GOP side.

Cramer did not sign onto the subsequent bipartisan statement on Wednesday afternoon, however. And Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the bipartisan group, said he did not sign the letter to Schumer and also dropped off the bipartisan group’s statement.

“I don’t know why we would set a deadline of Monday,” Moran said. “I don’t think this is the right strategy.”

Cramer said he signed on to the letter with the hope of increasing momentum. “The letter is unbinding enough that I don’t think you box yourself in,” the North Dakota Republican said. “What the letter does is it keeps the ball in play, at least it puts a little extra encouragement to Leader Schumer to provide a little more time for the group to continue working.”

Requesting anonymity, a Republican senator said that the group’s Republicans were at risk of getting out “over their skis” by committing to an unfinished product.

Schumer set up the vote on an unfinished bill to pressure negotiators to finish up their work after months of talks among Republicans, the White House and Senate Democrats. And the Senate Democratic leader made one last case for Republican support this week, however, arguing Republicans “should feel comfortable” moving forward because there is no hard deadline to finish the bill and it could be amended once the Senate begins debate on it.

“We all want the same thing, to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill. But in order to finish the bill, we first need to start,” Schumer said Wednesday morning.

* * *

Last week, GOP negotiators removed IRS enforcement as a financing mechanism, after it proved too toxic with the rest of the Republican caucus. Instead, the group is eyeing delaying a rule related to Medicare to help make up the difference in funding. In addition, negotiators have yet to finalize how they’ll distribute unused coronavirus relief funds.

Note: Back in March, “the House voted to avert an estimated $36 billion in cuts to Medicare next year and tens of billions more from farm subsidies and other social safety net programs, moving to stave off deep spending reductions that would otherwise be made to pay for the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill enacted last week. [T]he maneuver meant that Congress has to act separately to prevent the automatic [Pay Go rules] cuts, which would go into effect in January if lawmakers do not act. Democrats remained confident that, even though they opposed the stimulus package, Republican senators would eventually support legislation to avoid cutting Medicare, farm subsidies and social services block grants to pay for it.” House Votes to Avert Deep Medicare Cuts to Pay for $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Plan.

So what the Gang of Twenty is saying is that they are against increased funding for IRS enforcement and audits of wealthy Plutocrats and corporations who cheat on their taxes, but they are OK with allowing cuts to Medicare and other social safety net programs under the Pay Go rules? They are going to lose Democratic votes with this indefensible position.

The larger bipartisan group of senators gathered on Wednesday for a pivotal lunch as they labor to clinch a plan to spend nearly $600 billion in new money on roads, bridges and broadband. The core 10 members of that group met late Tuesday and are close to finishing their agreement, though drafting the actual legislation will take several more days.

Portman and others briefed the larger group on the state of play, and there’s a sense within the bipartisan crew that they are nearly done with their long-running discussions. Among the remaining hang-ups are public transportation funding and financing of the bill.

The “pay fors” are always the hang-up.

Manchin said it was reasonable for Republicans to want to review those portions before committing to move forward.

“I respect that they want to see the contents of what we’re doing. So they deserve that,” Manchin said. “They have the right to see that and we’re hoping to have that for them so they’re able to make a decision on Monday.”

The Hill adds, Bipartisan group says it’s still on track after setback on Senate floor:

A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday afternoon issued a joint statement declaring they’re still on track for completing work on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, even after the Senate voted earlier in the day to reject a motion to begin the infrastructure debate.

“We have made significant progress and are close to a final agreement. We will continue working hard to ensure we get this critical legislation right — and are optimistic that we will finalize, and be prepared to advance, this historic bipartisan proposal to strengthen America’s infrastructure and create good-paying jobs in the coming days,” the group said.

The statement was signed by 10 Republicans, 11 Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats.

“We appreciate our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and the administration, working with us to get this done for the American people,” they wrote.

The senators issued the statement minutes after the Senate voted 49-51 against a motion to proceed to a shell House bill, which would have allowed the chamber to begin the infrastructure debate.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a leading member of the bipartisan group, said he expects Schumer to schedule another procedural vote early next week — likely Monday — to begin the infrastructure debate.

That, however, is contingent on the group finalizing its agreement by Monday.

Eleven Republicans — including the 10 who issued the joint statement Wednesday afternoon — have sent a letter to Schumer pledging they will vote to proceed to the infrastructure debate next week when they have a better chance of what their bipartisan compromise will look like.

That means Schumer would get the 60 votes he needs to proceed to infrastructure legislation, something he failed to do Wednesday afternoon.

It also would mean a major defeat for the “Grim Reaper of Democracy,” Mitch McConnell, who wants to hold his Sedition Caucus together to defeat any bill favored by democrats in his quest to deny the Biden administration any victories at the expense of the American people.

The Republican signatories on the joint statement were Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rob Portman (Ohio), Mitt Romney (Utah), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), and Todd Young (Ind.).

The Democrats were Sens. Chris Coons (Del.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Manchin, Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Mark Warner (Va.).

Sen. Angus King (Maine), an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also signed it.

The White House said it is encouraged by progress toward a finalized bipartisan infrastructure deal even as Republicans blocked the Senate from debating the bill before it was ready on Wednesday afternoon. White House ‘encouraged’ by infrastructure progress:

“We are encouraged to see the comments of Sen. [Mitt] Romney (R-Utah) this morning,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We understand this is a legislative process and it’s ongoing.”

Psaki said that President Biden is “eager to deliver these economic benefits that Americans in red states and blue states have deserved for so long.”

Psaki was referring to comments made by Romney earlier Wednesday about the bipartisan group closing on a final deal.

“Almost everything is resolved. … We will have another vote I hope next week and we’ll be able to proceed to the bill. We have enough Republicans, 10 or 12 or more Republicans, that are supportive of going on the bill,” Romney said.

The White House backed Schumer’s decision to hold the vote today, describing it as part of normal operations in the Senate. Psaki pointed to other bills where lawmakers have moved to begin debate without the legislative text, like a measure to address anti-Asian hate crimes that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support earlier this week.

[T]he bipartisan group issued a statement saying they are close to a final agreement following the vote.

“We have made significant progress and are close to a final agreement,” the group of 22 senators said. “We will continue working hard to ensure we get this critical legislation right—and are optimistic that we will finalize, and be prepared to advance, this historic bipartisan proposal to strengthen America’s infrastructure and create good-paying jobs in the coming days. We appreciate our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and the administration, working with us to get this done for the American people.”

Asked to react to the statement, Psaki told reporters that it was a “positive sign.”

“We have been encouraged … by the progress and grateful for the work of both the Democrats and Republicans involved,” she said.

Looks like we will be doing this all again next week.