Attempts to craft a bipartisan infrastructure plan hit multiple obstacles that again pushed Senate negotiators past another deadline to reach a deal.
Talks continued through Monday night but a resolution remained elusive, even as the White House and some Democrats expressed confidence that an accord would eventually be struck.
Negotiators ended the day Monday still attempting to bridge differences over transit funding, spending levels on water projects, whether all federally-backed projects should pay so-called prevailing wages and how much unspent Covid-19 money can be used to pay for infrastructure, among other disputed items.
White House counselor Steve Ricchetti and Ohio Senator Rob Portman, the lead GOP negotiator, continued bargaining by telephone Monday night to keep the deal alive, with input from other lawmakers.
Earlier Monday, Republicans rejected a counteroffer advanced by the Biden administration and Democrats, saying it attempted to reopen settled issues. Democrats accused Republicans of stalling.
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a key Democratic vote in the 50-50 Senate, warned that if the infrastructure deal fails, it would imperil plans to stuff the rest of President Joe Biden’s economic proposals into a $3.5 trillion budget package that can pass without Republican votes.
“Both of them are extremely important,” Manchin said. “If one falls apart how do you do the other one?”
Still, Manchin and other senators involved in the negotiations said they expected to get to an agreement.
“I am confident we will get to a deal and ultimately vote on it,” said Senator Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican. “Our group here is seeing eye to eye. We just need to make sure the White House and Democratic leadership are on board with the agreement we’ve reached.”
One of the remaining disputes is over water funding. The group agreed to $55 billion in new water funding but are divided over whether they agreed to tack on $15 billion in regular water funding Congress was expected to appropriate anyway for the next five years.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said White House officials have been in contact with Republicans and Democrats and they remain confident about reaching an agreement.
“As is normal in the end stages of big negotiations, there are some outstanding issues,” Psaki said Monday. “This is to be expected.”