Portman said that he wasn't sure "exactly when a cloture voting might occur," but that he had an idea based on Schumer’s comments. Portman said that he was open to a "healthy debate" in the chamber.A possible Wednesday vote could be a sign that negotiators have reached a final agreement. Schumer voted last week to start the process of passing an infrastructure plan across all three aisles. However, Senate Republicans blocked it and demanded more time to reach a final agreement.Schumer stated Wednesday morning that senators are making good progress on both legislative tracks.The GOP negotiators met with Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. It's unclear if the 10 Senate Republicans will vote for the motion to proceed.According to a Democratic aide, Senate Democrats will also meet at 1 p.m. for a special caucus meeting.Sens. The group was led by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D.Ariz.) & Rob Portman (R.Ohio). Last month, the group announced a framework that included nearly $600 billion in new spending for roads, bridges, and broadband. It was difficult to translate this framework into legislative text.Senator Lisa Murkowski (R. Alaska), who is a member, stated Wednesday that she would vote for the bipartisan bill. Murkowski stated to reporters that there is "a solid, strong number of people on both sides who want to get on an Infrastructure package." Fairness be told, there's much that many of our coworkers have not been able to understand. Another bipartisan negotiator, Sen. Mitt Romney (R. Utah), said he would also do it and was hopeful that the group would attract the 10 Republicans that are required to sign on.Positive sign: Sen. Thom Tillis (R.N.C.), said he would vote for moving forward Wednesday. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R.S.C.), and Richard Burr (R.N.C.), both said they were inclined to do the exact same.However, some Senate Republicans were less skeptical of the vote. They wanted to see the legislative text and a score before they could move forward. The process has also been criticized by committee chairs."It's still a bad idea to get on a bill that is still being written," stated Sen. John Cornyn, Texas, who was a McConnell adviser. "We will insist upon amendments, because this bill has been negotiated only by 20 people, but there are also 80 other senators."According to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House has not been briefed about the bipartisan agreement and would not commit to changing it if it was brought over to the House. Pelosi and other top House Democrats face significant pressure from their caucus, such as Peter DeFazio, Transportation Chair, to ensure that the Senate deal doesn't leave out House priorities.Pelosi said Wednesday that he couldn't promise to pass something if he didn't know the answer yet. I hope for the best.However, Democrats privately admit that it is unlikely that the House will attempt to change the Senate deal. They also note the opposition of the White House to reopening negotiations. Pelosi reiterated her commitment to not consider the bipartisan bill unless the Senate passes a Democratically-backed reconciliation package. This leaves the timing of when a deal will even reach Biden's desk in flux.Schumer insists that the Senate will pass bipartisan infrastructure and the budget blueprint for $3.5 trillion in social spending before it leaves for August recess. He suggested earlier this week that the Senate could remain in session through the weekend to complete the bipartisan agreement.Heather Caygle and Tanya Snyder contributed to this report.
