Biden: Let's deal on infrastructure

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he is “prepared to negotiate” on infrastructure deal. Republican lawmakers have doubts about his $2.3T proposal, tax hikes, and Biden's premise that the lack of infrastructure is an inflection to America’s economic power. The President met April 12 with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and attempted to assure them the White House meeting was not “window dressing.” A core dispute is about what counts as infrastructure in his proposal. Among the group at the WH meeting were at least two Gulf Coast lawmakers: Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.) and Rep. Garrett Graves (La.). After the meeting, Sen. Wicker indicated he was willing to negotiate with Biden and called it a “good discussion.” But a fundamental disagreement emerged about whether the United States is losing its status atop the global economy because of deteriorating infrastructure. “He says that we’re a declining superpower,” said Wicker. “I just fundamentally disagree … But he says that our allies and our adversaries tell us that.” The meeting came as the White House released state-by-state breakdowns April 12 that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability, among other issues. The figures in the state summaries paint a bleak picture. (Source: The AP 04/12/21) Biden wants infrastructure deal, but GOP doubts persist | Around Mississippi | djournal.com MISSISSIPPI NOTE: The four Gulf Coast states’ infrastructure report card: Alabama [C-]; Florida [C]; Louisiana [D+]; and Mississippi [D]. A link to all states’ report card at Biden infrastructure plan state highlights - DocumentCloud