President Trump’s push for a $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill is facing strong opposition from Senate Republicans. GOP senators are warning that President Trump’s expected proposal is too “rich” and would be a “heavy lift” in Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Kentucky) more pressing priority is to move the Senate’s version of the five-year reauthorization of the Highway Trust Fund. This effort is estimated to cost $287 billion, well below the $1 trillion plan the President is currently considering. The markup for the House of Representatives’ version of the reauthorization - introduced in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (INVEST in America) Act began on Wednesday morning, ran until 10 p.m. that evening, and has continued into Thursday with over 200 amendments remaining. The markup has faced significant technical difficulties as one of Congress’ first-ever major bill markups done by video conference. Despite the lengthy markup process and immense quantity of amendments, the bill will likely pass the House along party lines, putting it at a disadvantage in conference against the Senate's surface reauthorization that was approved unanimously by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last summer. The Senate still needs to hold a floor vote on that bill. Of prime importance to either effort is how to pay for the cost of a reauthorization. That remains unclear at this time.
