Senate Republicans to propose counteroffer on infrastructure closer to $1 trillion

Republican senators will announce a new counteroffer on infrastructure on Thursday, after the White House last week unveiled a slimmed-down alternative to President Biden's original massive proposal. The new offer will be close to $1 trillion, the minimum amount that Mr. Biden has said he will accept for an infrastructure bill, and proposes to be paid for by repurposing unused funds from previously approved coronavirus relief measures.

Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, told reporters that after a meeting between the chief Republican senators negotiating a counteroffer, the bill would be close to the president's request, and would cover eight years. He also said that it would not affect the 2017 tax cuts bill signed by former President Trump, which lowered the corporate tax rate to 21%. Mr. Biden has proposed paying for a large infrastructure bill by raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, which is unilaterally opposed by Republicans. "We're going to hit a figure very close to what the president said he would accept, and it will end up being the most substantial infrastructure bill ever enacted by the federal government. And if the president gets to make the decision, he will accept it," Wicker said, alluding to accusations from some Republicans that Mr. Biden's staff was less willing to negotiate than the president himself.