Senate Republicans challenged the Biden infrastructure plan with a $ 568 billion proposal

Senate Republicans proposed a $ 568 billion plan Thursday to make federal investments in infrastructure, below the $ 2 billion demanded by U.S. President Joe Biden, highlighting the difficult path to the party’s commitment to a new package of economic measures.

The Republican bid weighs heavily on traditional infrastructure projects: $ 299 billion is spent on roads and bridges, $ 65 billion on broadband, $ 61 billion on public transportation systems, and $ 44 billion on airports.

On the contrary, White House plan it seeks broader investment in research and development, manufacturing grants and replanting buildings, and provides much more federal funding to tackle climate change – a crucial element for many Democrats.

The Republican plan – led by West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito – does not include any corporate tax increases Proposed by the White House, it suggests that the cost of the proposal should be covered by higher user fees for things like electric vehicles.

The Republican proposal comes after Biden met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the White House, but it may not be enough to kick-start a serious round of negotiations over the text.

Many Democrats and Biden administration officials have warned that if they no longer believe Republican works match the needs of the country, they will look at ways to get through their infrastructure package without opposition support, using small majorities in both houses of Congress.

However, for this strategy to be successful, democratic support must be unanimous. That is expected to be a tougher feat infrastructure bill than for the $ 1.9 million stimulus plan approved in March.

The debate over infrastructure legislation will take center stage on Capitol Hill in the coming months. This is the second massive spending proposal pushed by Biden since its initial stimulus plan, and is designed to address the U.S. economy’s underinvestment in public goods that have sustained the economy in recent decades, according to White House officials.

Biden is also expected to announce a third spending plan of more than a thousand dollars next week, which will focus on child care and education and will be funded by a tax increase on wealthy people.

When they announced the infrastructure plan, Republicans asked the White House to consider it.

“It’s a serious attempt to offer… The strongest plan we’ve ever presented as a Republican,” Capito told reporters Thursday. “And I think Americans want to see us working together.”

But Capitol Hill Democrats were already moving to dismiss him. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden and Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey have said they will “shift the tax burden on infrastructure investment from corporations to the middle class.”