President Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan faces a contentious path on Capitol Hill, where Republicans criticized the proposed corporate tax increases as a nonstarter and some Democrats began to jockey for their own demands. Mr. Biden’s plan would provide $621 billion for surface transportation, $400 billion for long-term care for elderly and disabled people under Medicaid and $300 billion for domestic manufacturing, along with hundreds of billions of dollars for other efforts. It also includes a series of tax increases on companies, including raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, that the White House said would cover the cost of the spending over 15 years.
While both parties have circled around passing a major infrastructure package for years, disagreement about the scope of such a bill and how to pay for it have stymied previous efforts. If Democrats move to pass an infrastructure package without Republican support, its scope could be limited by Senate rules constraining what legislation can advance with a simple majority.
Unlike the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief measure Mr. Biden recently signed into law, lawmakers don’t face a looming deadline to pass this package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has set July 4 as a tentative goal for passing the bill, according to a person familiar with the matter, though she has indicated that timeline could slip until later in July. The White House said it would like the package to be passed by this summer.
Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) said the infrastructure push would likely prove more difficult than enacting the coronavirus relief, in part because of funding questions.