Biden and Republicans Reach 'Deadlock' in Infrastructure Investment Negotiations

Negotiations Shift to Cross-Faction Lawmakers
Democratic Party Signals Independent Action if Final Talks Fail

U.S. President Joe Biden is talking with Republican Representative Shelley Capito in his office.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Infrastructure investment budget negotiations between U.S. President Joe Biden and the Republican Party have collapsed. Now, the negotiations are up to bipartisan lawmakers. If this also fails, a Democratic Party-only bill passage is expected.

The White House announced on the 8th (local time) that infrastructure investment negotiations between President Biden and Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito had broken down.

President Biden attempted to reach an agreement with the Republicans by lowering the infrastructure investment amount from the original $2.25 trillion to $1.7 trillion and signaling a postponement of the corporate tax rate hike, but he was unsuccessful.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki explained the background of the negotiation failure in a statement, saying, "President Biden proposed a $1 trillion reduction in spending, but the Republican proposal only increased by $15 billion."

Accordingly, the infrastructure investment negotiations are said to have shifted to bipartisan lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties. President Biden also discussed negotiations with bipartisan Democratic lawmakers who will negotiate with the Republican side on the same day.

Even during his European tour to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit, President Biden plans to communicate with bipartisan lawmakers to encourage negotiations. The White House also hinted that if negotiations fail, the Democratic Party may proceed with the bill independently.