Bipartisan group of senators reach deal for ‘framework’ of infrastructure package, to meet with Biden tomorrow

• The bipartisan group of senators meeting with White House officials said they reached a ‘framework’ for a deal.
• They will present their framework for the massive spending package to President Joe Biden tomorrow.
• Senators will still need to draft legislation and gin up 60 votes in the Senate to pass the bill.
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A bipartisan coalition of senators secured a tentative agreement with White House staff on the highly prioritized infrastructure spending package.

On Wednesday, Senators involved in the negotiations, including Sens. Susan Collins, Joe Manchin, and Mitt Romney, announced that they had reached the “framework,” for a bill on the spending.

“There’s a framework of agreement on a bipartisan infrastructure package,” Collins told reporters on Wednesday after the meeting. “There’s still details to be worked out.”

The senators, who did not publicly share the new framework, said that they would brief President Joe Biden on the deal tomorrow and begin to work out details for how the hundreds of billions of dollars, or more, of infrastructure spending will be paid for.

Bloomberg reported that the bipartisan deal stands at $559 billion, instead of $579 billion, with broadband funds repurposed.

Senators leaving the meeting indicated that they reportedly agreed on how the spending would be financed.

The last proposal by the bipartisan group of senators was not taken up by the White House, and after today’s breakthrough, senators will still need to draft legislation and gin up 60 votes in the Senate to pass the bill.

Simultaneously, Senate Democrats are considering pushing through an infrastructure package drafted by Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is chair of the Senate Budget Committee. Through budget reconciliation in July, an infrastructure package could be approved without GOP support.

“White House senior staff had two productive meetings today with the bipartisan group of Senators who have been negotiating about infrastructure,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Wednesday, confirming the upcoming meeting. “The group made progress toward an outline of a potential agreement, and the President has invited the group to come to the White House tomorrow to discuss this in-person.”