President Trump
Donald TrumpPentagon takes heat for extending Guard's time at Capitol Fundraising spat points to Trump-GOP fissures Trump rally organizer claims Alex Jones threatened to throw her off stage: report MORE threatened to veto House Democrats' $1.5 trillion green infrastructure plan on Monday, arguing it should eliminate or reduce environmental reviews and doesn't route enough money to rural America.
The bill contains billions to repair the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges while setting aside funds for broadband, schools and hospitals. It would also require states to commit to reducing greenhouse gases and other climate measures in order to receive funding.
But Republicans have branded it as an iteration of the Green New Deal crafted without their input.
“This bill is problematic for several reasons. It is heavily biased against rural America. It also appears to be entirely debt-financed. And it fails to tackle the issue of unnecessary permitting delays, which are one of the most significant impediments to improving our infrastructure,” the White House wrote in a statement of administrative policy, saying the bill “is full of wasteful ‘Green New Deal’ initiatives.”
The veto message gives added fuel to Senate Republicans, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellPentagon takes heat for extending Guard's time at Capitol Fundraising spat points to Trump-GOP fissures Top GOP senators: Capitol Police failing to justify beefed-up security MORE (R-Ky.) has not expressed a willingness to bring the bill to the Senate floor.
The 2,300-page Moving Forward Act rolled out by Democrats this month is slated for a vote as soon as this week.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal
Richard Edmund NealIRS starts sending ,400 direct payments Top Republican: IRS should 'seriously consider' extending tax-filing deadline How the pandemic turbocharged inequality MORE (D-Mass.) has called it “the largest tax investment in combating climate change Congress has ever made.”
But the veto message reiterated Trump’s interest in paring down the environmental reviews that accompany major projects, calling the delays caused by permitting “one of the biggest roadblocks to improving the nation’s infrastructure.”
The bulk of the Democrats' infrastructure package is geared toward transportation measures that funnel money to public transit and would also require states to consider climate change when weighing projects.
“Those who don't believe in climate change, tough luck. We're going to deal with it,” House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio
Peter Anthony DeFazioDemocrats debate fast-track for infrastructure package Lawmakers unveil measure to give Postal Service B for electric vehicles Biden turns focus to next priority with infrastructure talks MORE (D-Ore.) said when the bill was unveiled.
The White House memo called the bill “heavily skewed toward programs that would disproportionately benefit America’s urban areas” while appearing to be “financed solely by the government taking on additional debt.”
Democrats have not outlined how to pay for the bill, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiPelosi launches infrastructure debate, urging bipartisanship Biden celebrates relief bill with Democratic leaders GOP leader to try to force Swalwell off panel MORE (D-Calif.) stressed that “with the interest rates where they are now, there's never been a better time for us to go big.”
Republicans have frequently complained they were excluded from crafting the bill, and the veto message repeatedly said Democrats failed to provide a bipartisan piece of legislation.
Trump “has repeatedly called on Congress to send him bipartisan infrastructure legislation. Unfortunately, H.R. 2 is not a serious proposal and fails to answer his call,” the message reads.
