(RoyalPatriot.com )- There are more than just Republicans in Washington who are not in favor of the Democrats’ proposed $3.5 trillion infrastructure plan. Business leaders are fighting against it, too.
Many lobbyists for businesses are becoming increasingly optimistic they’ll be able to help water down the infrastructure bill so that some measures, including tax hikes, aren’t as extreme as they are right now, according to a report from The Hill.
Part of the reason for their optimism is the agreement that was made between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 10 of the moderate Democrats in the House. That agreement set a September 27 deadline to vote on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill the Senate passed earlier in August.
Progressive Democrats were demanding that both of those bills be passed together. But, now, they will each get their own separate vote, which could be a victory for moderates.
Business leaders believe it’s a win for them, too. The Hill reports that the business groups believe progressive Democrats will lose part of the leverage they had over certain components of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, should the bipartisan bill pass through first.
Corporations in the U.S. are in favor of that bipartisan bill. It’s set to spend money on bridges, broadband connectivity, roads and water, and won’t raise any taxes on businesses in the process.
At the same time, they aren’t in favor of the $3.5 trillion package — which has only Democratic support. That bill will include things such as spending for education, climate change mitigation and child care. It will pay for part of this massive spending by increasing taxes.
Lobbyists in the industry are confident in their ability to slowly chip away at some of the proposed tax increases on businesses. They want to make some significant changes to overhaul international taxes on multinational corporations, too.
They believe the proposal as it stands now would significantly slow America’s recovery from the recession that was caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
One lobbyist who has known ties to Democrats in the Senate told The Hill:
“The business community has made great progress with certain Democrats on legitimate policy concerns with some of these proposals and their implications on the economy and international competitiveness. A lot of those arguments are landing.”
Some of the biggest allies for the business community among Democrats in Congress are Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Krysten Sinema of Arizona, along with moderate Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.
All three of those members of Congress have said they are concerned about the overall size of the $3.5 trillion infrastructure plan, and the proposed tax hikes that go along with it.
The votes of Manchin and Sinema are particularly vital for Democrats, as they’ll need the support of all 50 Democratic Senators if they want to pass the bill through the upper chamber without the support of any Republicans.
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