House Dems unveil $547B infrastructure bill amid Biden talks

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are weighing in on the infrastructure negotiations between President Joe Biden and Senate Republicans by calling for a public works boost that would dedicate about $547 billion over five years to roads, public transit systems and rail programs.

The proposal from Rep. Peter DeFazio, the Democratic chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, comes during a key moment of the infrastructure debate as the White House signals its desire to start wrapping up negotiations. The legislation’s unveiling Friday comes as Biden prepares to hold another round of talks with the lead Senate Republican negotiator, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.

DeFazio’s legislation includes a reauthorization of surface transportation programs set to expire Sept. 30. He tacked on major investments in passenger and freight rail. He framed the bill as moving forward on key pieces of Biden’s $1.7 trillion American Jobs Plan that are within his committee’s jurisdiction. And he called the effort a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to move our transportation planning out of the 1950s and toward our clean energy future.”

The bill is being closely watched as a building block toward a broader infrastructure package. DeFazio’s panel is expected to debate and vote on the measure next week. It is not expected to attract much GOP support, as Republicans unveiled their own legislation recently that would authorize about $400 billion over five years for road, bridge and transit programs.

The highway bill being taken up by the House panel doesn’t address the most contentious aspect of any infrastructure bill — how to pay for it. That’s for another panel to determine. A similar dynamic is playing out in the Senate, where a panel recently passed its...