America's aging infrastructure lags well behind other countries

NBC’s Tom Costello joins ‘The News with Shepard Smith’ to discuss America's aging infrastructure, which lags far behind other countries. The World Economic Forum ranks the U.S. 13th, behind countries like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, France and the U.K. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi

The Democratic and Republican senators pitching an infrastructure deal face early hurdles in pushing their roughly $1 trillion plan through Congress.

The bipartisan proposal crafted by 10 senators would focus on transportation, broadband and water, and would not raise taxes to offset costs. A handful of Democrats who seek a broader plan that addresses climate change and social programs, paid for by increasing taxes on corporations or the wealthy, have opposed the framework.

Senators have to walk a fine line as concessions to win over one party jeopardizes support from the other. Despite growing opposition from liberals, one Republican who worked on the plan hopes the group can gain support from enough GOP senators to overcome a loss of Democratic votes.

“There certainly should be,” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told CNBC on Tuesday when asked whether there would be enough Republican support to pass the plan. “I mean, this is a proposal for infrastructure that Republicans have traditionally supported. It’s also a proposal without raising income taxes. … I think it’s something that’s going to get a lot of support on both sides of the aisle.”

President Joe Biden proposed a $2.3 trillion infrastructure and economic recovery plan as his second major legislative initiative. After his talks with Republicans collapsed amid disagreements over what to include in a bill and how to pay for it, lawmakers pushed ahead with a last-ditch effort to craft a bipartisan plan.

As the 10 senators try to win support for their proposal, Democrats have set the groundwork to approve a bill on their own through budget reconciliation. During a meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday, White House advisor Steve Ricchetti said the administration would wait “a week or 10 days” to see if a bipartisan deal materializes, according to House Budget Committee Chair Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky. If not, Democrats “move along with reconciliation for everything,” Yarmuth said.

However, a Democrats-only bill appears blocked for now as at least one Democrat involved in the talks, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, insists he wants to pass a plan with bipartisan support.

Congressional leaders have a math problem. To get through the evenly split Senate under the normal process, legislation would need support from all of the Democratic caucus and at least 10 Republicans — or more if any Democrats defect. If Democrats try to approve legislation on their own using budget reconciliation, they cannot lose a single vote.

The bipartisan strategy faces its share of skeptics. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters Monday he will not vote for the plan.

“The bottom line is, there are a lot of needs facing this country,” he said. “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 and wealth inequality in America.”

At least two other Democrats — Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon — have signaled they will oppose an infrastructure deal unless it invests more in fighting climate change.

Passing a bill in the Senate will also depend on whether the bipartisan group can win over Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Neither senator has endorsed the framework.

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The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/the-news-with-shepard-smith-podcast.html?__source=youtube%7Cshepsmith%7Cpodcast

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