Senate Democrats raise concerns about bipartisan infrastructure talks

Washington — A bipartisan group of senators is working on crafting a deal on infrastructure legislation, after President Biden ended negotiations with a team of Republican senators on Tuesday. But some Democrats have raised concerns about any agreement that may be reached by this bipartisan group of moderates, worrying that it will not address some of the key provisions included in Mr. Biden's original infrastructure proposal.

"I think it's been made clear to those negotiators that we're rooting them on, but there's no guarantee that you can get 50 Democratic votes for the package they produce," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday, saying he was concerned that climate-related provisions and certain transit improvements might by excluded. Any final infrastructure legislation would require 60 votes to advance in the Senate, and Democrats have a narrow 50-seat majority, meaning they need 10 Republicans to support the bill. The bipartisan group is trying to reach a deal that will be amenable to enough Republicans to reach that 60-vote threshold, instead of attempting to pass a bill through budget reconciliation, a lengthy and complicated process which would allow the legislation to be approved without any Republican votes.