Pelosi, flanked with committee chairs, stated that it is a powerful job-creating package and seizes the once in a century opportunity to rebuild America's infrastructure.These programs are renewed every few years by the bill that comes to Congress. It has been presented separately from Biden’s high-profile talks on infrastructure. It's not surprising that the bill is being drawn into the larger debate, but it's impossible to predict where the legislative highway will lead next. Top Democrats present a dual-track approach for infrastructure, a bipartisan agreement alongside a massive party-line plan that includes roads and bridges. Some Democrats argue that the transportation bill could be a third lane.Some Democrats believe that pieces of the bill which will be passed by the House Thursday may have a better chance at becoming law in the midst of infrastructure drama. This is because it has a Sept. 30 deadline for extending key surface transportation programs. This option is the latest twist in months-long convoluted talks about how a narrowly divided Congress can accomplish one of the White House's top legislative priorities. It also offers party leaders an opportunity to keep the aggressive July timeline that they have been promising.The House Transportation Committee Chair Peter DeFazio, a Republican from Oregon, stated Wednesday that he personally urged Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a senator who is also working on a similar bill to combine major portions of his measure with the existing Senate work into the Biden-endorsed bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. DeFazio pointed out that the agreement is more of an outline than it is a piece of legislation.DeFazio told reporters that he had said to Schumer, "Well, it took seven months for my staff to write the policy. I don't know how fast they can write policy there. You might want to take a look at our policy. We adopt large portions of it.DeFazio's public push to include key elements of his bill in White House discussions represents a shift of pace. He had spent weeks arguing that broader talks were beyond his reach and was laser-focused only on passing his bill.Although the legislation's ostensible purpose is to reauthorize federal programs that account for the bulk of federal highway and transit funding funds, it also contains a variety of new programs and policies. Many of these programs and policies align with the priorities of Biden's original infrastructure plan, especially those designed to combat climate change.Although the Senate has begun work on a parallel proposal, it still needs to be brought before the floor. If both chambers wish to form a conference committee to combine their proposals, it must be passed by both chambers. There are two ways to get around this process. One is going to conference on a separate bill, which is then replaced by the text lawmakers are actually considering. The other is a "pingpong" process in which each chamber sends its proposals back and forth.DeFazio suggested that his bill could be combined with the Senate's work on the surface transportation bill, and the bipartisan agreement in an informal conference among the White House and Senate. The bill's future path is still unclear, despite the fact that it will be merged with work completed by the Senate on its surface transportation bill.Pelosi made a clear distinction Wednesday between the transportation bill, and the party's larger plans to guide another large spending bill through the parliamentary maze known as budget reconciliation. This allows the party to avoid a Senate GOP filibuster.Pelosi replied to a question about the plans of the parties for the multi-trillion dollar spending bill. It's not an infrastructure issue. It's a budget question, but not necessarily infrastructure.Some rank-and-file Democrats are left scratching their heads trying to figure out what they will vote on over the next month, and into the fall.The bipartisan agreement includes $579 billion in new expenditure on infrastructure, but there is no legislative text. And then there's the huge reconciliation bill which will take months before it can be brought to the floor.Then there's the problem of timing the bills to please a divided Democratic party. Pelosi stated on Wednesday that she would not bring either the reconciliation or bipartisan bill to the floor until both are passed by the Senate.Democrats believe that the transportation bill is a crucial marker in ongoing negotiations and gives a preview of their messaging push to keep their majority in the next November midterms.White House officials work to ensure that all options are considered. Biden administration officials will be making rounds in the House this week to assure both moderates and progressives that the infrastructure plan is possible.After previous discussions with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and another centrist group the New Democrat Coalition, officials from Biden's legislative team will meet Wednesday with representatives of the Blue Dog Coalition.The White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, along with other administration officials, assured the Democratic lawmakers that Biden's weekend remarks to appease GOP negotiators did not mean that there was a change in their two-track approach.It is essential that the legislation be linked. In summarising the meeting, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D.Minn.), stated that conversations don't have to be.The House will close voting on Thursday on the DeFazio bill. Many Republicans are expected cross the aisle to support it.The GOP is opposed to the bill in general and rejects the idea that it is similar the Senate infrastructure deal.The bill we were debating and voting on this week in the House was not the bipartisan agreement that President Biden was referring to, said Rodney Davis of Illinois, a high ranking Republican on the transportation committee.Davis stated that it is a very partisan bill, which puts most of the money into urban areas at the expense of rural America and many areas that I represent.James Bikales contributed to the report.
