Sanders won't vote for bipartisan infrastructure deal
By Alexander Bolton - 06/14/21 06:43 PM EDT
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says he won’t support a bipartisan infrastructure spending proposal unveiled last week because he believes it doesn’t do enough to address the needs of the country and shields the wealthy from tax increases.
Sanders’s opposition means the proposal would need to garner at least 11 Republican votes in the 50-50 Senate if Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) puts it on the floor and the rest of the Democratic caucus votes for it.
"I wouldn't vote for it," he told reporters Monday evening. "The bottom line is there are needs facing this country. Now is the time to address those needs and it has to be paid for in a progressive way given the fact that we have massive income, wealth inequality in America."
Other Democrats share Sanders's disappointment with the size of the bipartisan proposal, which would spend $579 billion in new money over current budget baselines.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the proposal was “very, very paltry. And disappointing.”
“When you look at it over five years, it’s pitiful and paltry,” he added.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/558394-sanders-wont-vote-for-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal
