On This Week, Portman Says Now is Time to Pass Historic, Bipartisan Infrastructure Agreement
Says He and Colleagues Were Blindsided By President Biden’s Comments Thursday; Pleased with Clarification
In an interview on ABC This Week earlier this morning, Senator Portman discussed the bipartisan infrastructure agreement announced this week between the bipartisan group of U.S. senators and President Joe Biden.
Portman noted that he was glad President Biden clarified his past remarks and affirmed that he would not veto the bipartisan infrastructure agreement if it was passed by Congress without the multi-trillion dollar, partisan Democrat reconciliation bill.
A transcript of his remarks is below and video can be found here.
PORTMAN ON PRESIDENT BIDEN CLARIFYING HIS POSITION ON INFRASTRUCTURE:
“I was very glad to see the president clarify his remarks, because it was inconsistent with that everything we had been told all along the way. We were all blindsided by the comments the previous day, which were that somehow these two bills were connected – the reconciliation billion which is a trillion dollars of social spending that is going to be entirely partisan, the largest tax increase in American history on the one hand, and on the other hand, the infrastructure bill, which is bipartisan, has no taxes, focuses on core infrastructure and has been bipartisan from the start.
“So it was a surprise to say the least that those two got linked, and I’m glad they’ve been delinked, and it’s very clear that we can move forward with a bipartisan bill that’s broadly popular not just among members of Congress but the American people. Over 87 percent of people, we’re told by one poll, believe we ought to do a bipartisan infrastructure bill because it’s needed. Our roads and bridges are in tough shape, our ports, our rail system, our grid, our broadband system need to be expanded. These are things that people are looking for. So we were glad to see them disconnected and now we can move forward on something that really makes sense for the American people.”
PORTMAN ON THE NEED FOR BIPARTISANSHIP:
“Well, I think there has been good faith on both sides, and it’s true that there was a miscommunication there in terms of linking the two, but that was never part of our discussion and never part of the bipartisan group discussion that’s been going on for almost four months now, and certainly not when the president and his team engaged to negotiate the final aspects of this.
“So the bottom line is, it’s a popular bill for all the right reasons. It’s the right thing for the country. Every analysis of our infrastructure system gives us low grades. We do have crumbling roads and bridges. We also are not competitive with the rest of the world. And this is the kind of spending, Jonathan, that is long-term that makes our economy more efficient and therefore more productive. This is the kind of thing that’s going to create a lot of great jobs, and with good benefits, so something we need to do to be able to compete with China and our other global competitors and frankly do something that presidents through the ages have talked about – remember when Donald Trump talked about the need for a $2 trillion infrastructure bill, and so did President Obama before him, and so did President Bush before him. We’re finally getting something done here that’s been talked about in Washington for decades.
“I wasn’t back-slapping because there is still a long way to go. It’s impossible to get things done in Washington these days. And so it’s a minor miracle when you can pull things together, as you say. But you’re right – infrastructure is different. We’re not talking about health care or taxes, we’re talking about something where there’s broad support, again, not just among members of Congress, where we have now 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats who are part of this group, but also among the American people, and that’s what matters. People are looking for us to get something done, specifically on infrastructure, but more generally to work together to solve big problems. And I think this is a step in the right direction in both of those categories.”
SENATOR PORTMAN ON THE FUTURE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY:
“He’s definitely the leader of the party in the sense that he has high popularity among the Republican base and that’s what you saw last night. I think you saw a big turnout. But, you know, my view is pretty simple, is that the Republican Party and President Trump ought to focus on two things. One is policies. During the Trump administration, a lot of good things were done for the country. Going into the pandemic we had not just historically low unemployment, but we had historically low unemployment for Blacks and Hispanics. We had the lowest poverty rate in the history of the country, we had the 19th straight month of wage increases of 3 percent or more annualized. So there was a lot of good stuff going on – we had to talk about that. The tax cuts, the tax reform, the regulatory relief was working. Our military was being rebuilt and that was crucial and is crucial as we face so many challenges around the globe. And Operation Warp Speed worked remarkably well. So let’s focus on policies that worked and also what is not working now because the largest tax increase in American history is the wrong thing to do as we’re coming out of this pandemic. So there is a lot to talk about. And second, let’s focus on 2022 and getting the House majority back and the Senate majority. So that’s what I would focus on and not the other stuff.”
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