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GOP senators ready $1T infrastructure counteroffer to Biden

President Joe Biden
Posted at 4:10 AM, May 26, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-26 07:17:23-04

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are reviving negotiations over President Joe Biden's sweeping infrastructure investment plan.

On Tuesday, they prepared a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal that would be funded with COVID-19 relief money as a counteroffer to the White House ahead of a Memorial Day deadline toward a bipartisan deal.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said a week of progress was expected.

Talks over infrastructure investment are at a crossroads as Biden reaches for a top legislative priority. In April, Biden unveiled the initial plans for his package, which featured nearly $2 trillion to improve America's roads, bridges and rail lines. It also included investments in child care and eldercare.

The White House is assessing whether Biden can strike a deal with Republicans or whether he will go it alone with Democrats. While Biden preached unity and working across the aisle during the 2020 presidential campaign, he did not work with Republicans in passing his administration's first key piece of legislation — a COVID-19 stimulus package — earlier this year.