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PRESENTED BYBY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN THE TOPIn public, it’s been mostly happy faces and optimistic statements from the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure group. Senators and aides said they’re just this close to a deal, all they need is a little more time to get the bill written and tied up. And then Thursday came, and the deal was in trouble all over again as senators rushed out of town. No one was sure if there’d be any legislative text done by early next week, as was the stated goal. So are they close? Who knows. When lawmakers write a nearly $1 trillion bill behind closed doors without any transparency, how can we — the public — have any idea? But we can say this: We spent last night hearing all sorts of gripes from the key players. → The baseline gripe: The transit portion of the bill still isn’t finished. That’s kind of important for a transportation bill. Especially since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is from New York, it would seem like transit would be a key component of any bill. → Democrats say that Republicans are trying to break the 80% highway, 20% public transit split that’s been in place for 39 years. “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in our nation’s infrastructure and create a better, more connected future for the American people,” said Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Tom Carper (Del.), the chairs of the Banking and Environment and Public Works panels respectively, in a statement. “We cannot do that if Republicans attempt to strike transit funds and programs from the infrastructure package.” → Republicans tell us that this complaint is all bunk. They say the funding split over the last five years has been better than 82% highway to just under 18% transit — so highways have gotten more. And over 30 years, it’s been even lower for transit. Republicans said Democrats need to come toward them, or they risk blowing up a deal. "Democrats frankly are not being reasonable in their requests right now,” Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio), the lead Republican negotiator, told reporters. → Senate Democrats warned that there are other disputes, including broadband money, water funding, Davis-Bacon (read “labor unions”) provisions and rescinding unspent Covid funds. And here’s the thing: Similar to when moderates like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) or Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) refuse to back bills when they don’t get what they want, any one of their Democratic colleagues can do the same now and tank the deal. Every Democrat needs to be on board here. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said this: “While I voted to proceed to consideration of a bipartisan infrastructure bill, more will need to be done in order for me to support the current proposal that is being drafted. We have a unique opportunity to make significant investments in communities across the nation and improve people’s lives, but I can’t commit to supporting a final bill if it does not include full funding for my Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA) at $35.9 billion over the next five years.” → The White House, meanwhile, has concerns of its own, as well. They’re worried about holding all the Democrats together — what administration isn’t worried about that? — and they aren’t sure Republicans can provide the votes that they claim to have. This deal is supposed to be wrapped up Monday, if possible. Then Schumer could file cloture again and get moving. It’s just not clear that’ll happen now. There’s been so many twists and turns here that it’s hard to predict. Hard to see this group coming this far and falling short a this point. And our experience with similar negotiations over the last couple decades has also been that the grumbling always gets loudest right before a deal happens. Except sometimes it doesn’t. The coverage: → NBC: “Transit money emerges as a last major obstacle to bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal,” by Sahil Kapur, Frank Thorp, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Julie Tsirkin … → Politico: "Dems are ‘not particularly pleased’ with the Senate infrastructure deal. They’ll back it anyway,” by Marianne Levine, Burgess Everett and Laura Barron-Lopez New: We invite you to join us next Friday, June 30 at 10 a.m. for a virtual conversation with the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Cecilia Rouse, in partnership with Paid Leave for All. We’ll sit down with Rouse to discuss the news of the day, challenges facing workers coming out of the pandemic, and efforts to change the policy around paid family and medical leave. Paid Leave for All Director Dawn Huckelbridge and Ford Foundation President Darren Walker will join Anna afterward for a fireside chat. Don’t miss this virtual conversation. Register here. PRESENTED BY COMCAST In the next 10 years, Comcast is committing $1 billion to reach 50 million people from low-income families with the tools and resources they need to succeed in a digital world. We’ll do this by connecting people to low-cost $10 Internet at home, equipping community centers with free WiFi and working with thousands of nonprofit community organizations, city leaders, and business partners to create new opportunities, particularly in media, arts, technology, and entrepreneurship. Learn more. THE PENTAGON’S CASH Senate Armed Services approves big defense boost. The fight has begun. The Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday approved spending $740 billion next year for Defense Department programs as part of the annual national defense authorization act. This passed by a big bipartisan majority. This is a 5% increase from last year — 3% above inflation — which is in line with what Republicans had been pushing for the last several months. The panel also authorized nearly $28 billion for Energy Department national security programs, and another $10 billion more on defense activities at other agencies. Total defense related spending is $778 billion under this legislation, which will now head to the Senate floor for final approval by the chamber. It’s clear there will be a lot of support from both sides. President Joe Biden requested $715 billion in Pentagon spending for FY 2022, so the committee number is $25 billion higher than what the White House wanted. And it’s a lot more than House progressives are going to be willing to support. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have been very critical of proposed defense budget increases this week as SASC was preparing to vote. “Apropos of nothing, $25 billion is also the same amount it would take to vaccinate the entire world from COVID-19,” the group Public Citizen tweeted. “Congress needs to know that it’s unacceptable to give billions to the Pentagon while basic human needs go unmet in this country.” And former Labor Secretary Robert Reich added: “The Pentagon already spends nearly $2,000,000,000 a day. The last thing we need is a bigger military budget. The House Appropriations Committee recently approved a $706 billion defense spending bill for next year, so there’s a big gap developing on this issue, both between the two parties and among Democrats. This means the defense funding bill will be one of the last to get done. “The FY22 National Defense Authorization Act will help safeguard the nation, counter a range of evolving threats, and support our troops both on and off the battlefield,” Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said in a statement announcing the panel’s action. “This forward-looking legislation invests in people, platforms, and infrastructure. It authorizes funding levels and sets policies to equip, supply, and train U.S. forces now and in the future.” “After a lengthy but productive markup, I’m proud this year’s bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act increases the defense topline to the National Defense Strategy Commission’s recommendation of three to five percent real growth,” added Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking member of the committee. “The world we face today is more dangerous than I’ve seen in my lifetime, and our military must be ready to meet any and all challenges we face. The NDAA largely moves us toward that goal — strengthening our national defense, standing up to Russia and China and, mostly importantly, supporting our service members and their families.” The House Armed Services Committee is set to begin marking up its version of the NDAA next week at the subcommittee level. The full committee hasn’t set a date for a vote yet. THE FRONTS … And Covid is back THE MONEY GAME → Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) leadership PAC gave $5,000 to Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.). That was her only contribution to a House lawmaker. JHB, as you’ll recall, has been quite critical of former President Donald Trump. → The DSCC repaid a $3 million loan June 28. → The NRCC transferred $1.5 million to the RNC June 4. → The RNC spent $4,332 on rent in June at 10K Hill South, a luxury apartment building in Navy Yard. Also: Not a single Trump property-related expense last month by the RNC. A few at the Four Seasons (D.C. and New Orleans) and one at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel. THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT OF THE BOUNCEBACK … COMING TUESDAY We’ve taken you behind the scenes with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt. On Tuesday, we’ll bring you The Bounceback focused on Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. Polis, a former member of the House, shares how he led Colorado through the pandemic. MOMENTS 10 a.m.: President Joe Biden will receive his daily intelligence briefing. 12:30 p.m.: Jen Psaki will brief. 7:45 p.m.: Biden will participate in a campaign event for Terry McAuliffe for governor at Lubber Run Park in Arlington. 8:45 p.m.: Biden will leave the Wihte House for Wilmington. 9:40 p.m.: Biden will arrive in Wilmington. CLIP FILE NYT → “Justice Dept. Seeks to Curb Illegal Gun Trafficking,” by Katie Benner in Chicago → “Democrats’ Divide on Voting Rights Widens as Biden Faces Pressure,” by Katie Rogers and Nick Corasaniti → “‘I’ll Never Forget You’: Veterans Push to Get Afghan Partners in War to the U.S.,” by Jennifer Steinhauer and John Ismay in Edgewater, Md. WaPo → “Biden will launch into campaigning with visit to Virginia in support of McAuliffe,” by Sean Sullivan → “Steele forms an exploratory committee for possible 2022 Maryland gubernatorial bid,” by Ovetta Wiggins WSJ → “U.S. Vaccine Panel Signals Preliminary Support for Covid-19 Booster Shots,” by Jared S. Hopkins and Felicia Schwartz → “Biden’s China Policy Borrows From Trump and Adds Allies to Raise Pressure,” by William Mauldin and Vivian Salama PRESENTED BY COMCAST Over the last decade, Comcast’s groundbreaking Internet Essentials program has connected more than 10 million people from low-income families to high-speed Internet at home for less than $10 a month. Now, Comcast is committing $1 billion over the next 10 years to reach 50 million people with the tools and resources they need to succeed in a digital world. Enjoying Punchbowl News AM? Subscribe 10 friends with your unique link (below) and get a Punchbowl News hat! Your referral link is: Or share via You currently have: 0 referrals
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