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WASHINGTON — Pivotal Sen. Joe Manchin wavered on his support for President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.75 trillion domestic policy proposal, but Democratic leaders vowed to push ahead, with initial voting possible on the bill and a related $1 trillion infrastructure package in the House this week. The West Virginia Democrat’s announcement Monday came as Democrats wanted assurances from Manchin that he will support Biden’s big package. He’s one of two key holdout senators whose votes are needed to secure the deal and push it toward passage. Instead, the conservative Manchin rebuffed progressive Democrats, urging them to quit holding “hostage” the smaller public works bill as negotiations continue on the broader package. “Enough is enough,” Manchin said at a hastily called news conference at the Capitol. Manchin said he’s open to voting for a final bill reflecting Biden’s big package “that moves our country forward.” But he said he’s “equally open to voting against” the final product as he assesses the sweeping social services and climate change bill. Democrats have been working frantically to finish up months of negotiations, and it’s unclear whether Manchin’s resistance will deliver a debilitating blow to those efforts or have the opposite effect of propelling Democrats to start taking votes on Biden’s signature domestic proposal. His comments infuriated some Democrats but energized others, particularly progressives eager to force his hand. The White House swiftly responded that it remains confident Manchin will support Biden’s plan, and the congressional leaders said it all remained on track. “Senator Manchin says he is prepared to support a Build Back Better plan that combats inflation, is fiscally responsible, and will create jobs,” said press secretary Jen Psaki in a statement. “As a result, we remain confident that the plan will gain Senator Manchin’s support.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer both echoed the White House. And progressives insisted it’s time to vote. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the leader of the progressive caucus said, “I don’t know what Sen. Manchin is thinking, but we are going to pass both bills through the House and we are going to deliver transformative change to the people.” The stakes are high with Biden overseas at a global climate change summit and his party fighting in two key governors’ races this week — in Virginia and New Jersey — that are seen as bellwethers in the political mood of the electorate. With Republicans staunchly opposed and no votes to spare, Democrats have been trying to unite progressive and centrist lawmakers around Biden’s big vision. Biden unveiled a framework for the package last week, a sizable investment in social service programs and climate change strategies, but Democrats are trying to negotiate a provision to lower prescription drug prices for seniors with Medicare, among other final changes. At a leadership meeting late Monday, Pelosi said the House Rules Committee could meet as soon as Tuesday evening or Wednesday, which would allow for votes midweek, according to a person who requested anonymity to discuss the private talks. The Senate would still have to vote, likely later in the month. Progressives had been refusing to vote on the smaller public works bill, using it as leverage as they try to win commitments from Manchin and Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the other key holdout, for Biden’s broader bill. Manchin, though, in a direct response to the progressives’ tactic, said “holding this bill hostage won’t work to get my support” for the broader one. The public works bill of roads, highways and broadband projects has already been approved by the Senate but is being stalled by House progressives as the broader negotiations are underway. About Biden’s big package, Manchin said he will “not support a bill that is this consequential without thoroughly understanding the impact” it has on the economy and federal debt. “This is not how the United States Congress should operate,” Manchin said. “It’s time our elected leaders in Washington stop playing games.” Many Democrats were livid at Manchin for hitting the brakes yet again, particularly because they argued that Biden’s plan is expected to be fully paid for with new taxes on companies and the wealthy, and not add to the debt. “I think he just betrayed his lack of seriousness,” said Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., the chairman of the Budget Committee. Biden’s top domestic priorities have been a battlefield between progressive and moderate Democrats for months, and it was unclear if this week’s timetable for initial House votes could be met. The $1.75 trillion package is sweeping in its reach, and would provide large numbers of Americans with assistance to pay for health care, education, raising children and caring for elderly people in their homes. It also would provide some $555 billion in tax breaks encouraging cleaner energy and electrified vehicles, the nation’s largest commitment to tackling climate change. Much of its costs would be covered with higher taxes on people earning over $10 million annually and large corporations, which would now face a 15% minimum tax in efforts to stop big business from claiming so many deductions they end up paying zero in taxes. Over the weekend, Democrats made significant progress toward adding provisions curbing prescription drug prices to the massive package, two congressional aides said Sunday. They requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing negotiations. According to a senior Democratic aide, one proposal under discussion would let Medicare negotiate lower prices with pharmaceutical companies for many of their products. Excluded would be drugs for which the Food and Drug Administration has granted initial protection against competition, periods that vary but last several years. There would be a cap on seniors’ out-of-pocket drug costs under Medicare Part D, the program’s outpatient prescription drug benefit, said the senior aide, who did not provide a figure. And pharmaceutical makers would have to pay a rebate if their prices rise above certain markers. “You put these things together and you’re moving towards a financial reality where a prescription is no longer a financial ball and chain for American families,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the chairman of the Finance Committee. Talks were continuing and no final agreement had been reached. But the movement raised hopes that the party’s 10-year, $1.75 trillion measure would address the longtime Democratic campaign promise to lower pharmaceutical costs, though more modestly than some wanted. Some moderate Democrats in the House said they want to see see the final assessment from the Congressional Budget Office, which will offer a nonpartisan assessment of the overall bill’s entire budgetary costs, before taking the vote.

WASHINGTON — In a report issued Friday, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) said a recent investigation found multiple critical vulnerabilities on web servers that function within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). “FMCSA did not detect our access or placement of malware on the network in part because it did not use required automated detection tools and malicious code protections,” the DOT report stated. “We also gained access to 13.6 million unencrypted (personal identity) records. Had malicious hackers obtained (these records) it could have cost FMCSA up to $570 million in credit monitoring fees. Furthermore, the agency does not always remediate vulnerabilities as quickly as DOT policy requires. These weaknesses put FMCSA’s network and data at risk for unauthorized access and compromise.” The FMCSA uses 13 web-based applications to aid vehicle registration, inspections and other activities. “Many of FMCSA’s information systems contain sensitive data, including personally identifiable information,” the DOT report stated. “Due to the importance of FMCSA’s programs to the transportation system and sensitivity of some Agency information, we conducted this audit of FMCSA’s information technology (IT) infrastructure. Our objective was to determine whether FMCSA’s IT infrastructure contains security weaknesses that could compromise the Agency’s systems and data. The DOT said it recommended 13 different points of action that FMCSA officials need to take in order to better secure their information. “We consider all 13 recommendations resolved but open pending FMCSA’s completion of planned actions,” DOT officials said.  

SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order directing state agencies to identify additional ways to alleviate congestion at California ports. The executive order builds on earlier efforts this year by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to ease supply chain issues by “engaging the diverse network of stakeholders along the supply chain to discuss key challenges and identify short-term and long-term solutions,” according to a news release. Record demand for imported goods combined with capacity issues across the entire supply chain have slowed distribution at ports on the California coast. “California’s ports are critical to our local, state and national economies and the state is taking action to support goods movement in the face of global disruptions,” Newsom said. “My administration will continue to work with federal, state, labor and industry partners on innovative solutions to tackle immediate challenges while also bringing our distribution processes into the 21st century.” The total customs value of the Port of Los Angeles’ containerized imports in 2020 was $211.9 billion. According to the publication American Shipper, given that imports totaled 4,827,040 TEUs, this equates to an average of $43,899 per import TEU. (Several other sources also estimated average cargo value at around $40,000 per TEU.) “This suggests that the cargo currently waiting off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is worth around $22 billion, roughly the equivalent of the annual revenues of McDonald’s or the GDP of Iceland,” American Shipper reported. The executive order, signed on Thursday, directs state agencies to continue coordinating with the Biden-Harris Administration Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to address state, national and global supply chain challenges. The executive order also directs the Department of Finance to work with state agencies to develop longer-term solutions that support port operations and goods movement for consideration in the Jan. 10 governor’s budget, which may include port and transportation infrastructure improvements, electrification of the goods movement system from port to delivery, and workforce development. Additionally, the executive order directs state agencies to identify state-owned properties and other locations that could be available to address short-term storage needs once goods are unloaded from ships; to identify priority freight routes to be considered for a temporary exemption to current gross vehicle limits to allow for trucks to carry additional goods; and to create workforce training and education programs. AB 639’s (Cervantes, 2020) implementation is also expedited through this executive order. Earlier this year, GO-Biz launched the California Supply Chain Success Initiative, a partnership with the California State Transportation Agency, the Port of Long Beach, and the CSU Long Beach Center for International Trade and Transportation to engage the diverse network of stakeholders along the supply chain to discuss key challenges and identify creative solutions. This effort, which brought together federal, state and local leaders, is focused on both short-term and long-term steps to address port congestion, including implementing a new 24/7 environment across the supply chain, a move the state worked with the Biden-Harris Administration on, improving collaboration, and exploring policies to remove obstacles and improve the movement of goods.

WASHINGTON — Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, says she has pushed President Joe Biden to hold the line and keep his ambitious social spending plan closer to $3 trillion instead of the $2 trillion range that he has floated to Democrats in recent days. Jayapal told The Associated Press in an interview on Oct. 7 that she had told Biden that his suggestion for compromise was “too low, and I said that I would really like to be closer to three.” The original amount for the package of Democratic initiatives, including expanded child care, health care, education and environmental programs, was $3.5 trillion. The Washington state Democrat has emerged as a top negotiator in the talks on Capitol Hill, using the clout of her liberal caucus — and its nearly 100 members — to thwart a group of House moderates who demanded a vote last week on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. Biden tacitly endorsed the progressive caucus’s strategy last week, insisting that the spending package full of longtime Democratic priorities be linked to infrastructure. But he also floated trimming it back to a range between $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion, drawing pushback from Jayapal and others. Jayapal said that the conversation is ongoing and she isn’t “drawing any red lines” in the negotiations. A White House spokesman declined to comment on any private conversations. “The president knows” that progressives are pushing for the higher amount, Jayapal said. “I said it directly to him, I also said to his top aides, and we’re going to continue to figure out where we can go.” In only her fifth year in Congress, Jayapal is holding her growing caucus of liberals firmly together, marshaling influence that the left wing of the party hasn’t had in years. In doing so, she is hoping to help Biden win passage of his agenda, which includes a slate of social programs that Democrats have desired for decades. A small group of moderate House Democrats hoped to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill alone and work on the social spending package later. But fearful that moderates would sink the larger bill, Jayapal and her members insisted that the two remain linked. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi abandoned a planned vote on the infrastructure measure after it became clear they lacked support to pass it. Jayapal says she’s “proud of this moment” not only because she is a woman of color at the negotiating table — she emigrated from India at age 16 and became the first Indian-American woman to serve in the House when she was elected in 2016 — but also because her caucus has stayed unified. “We are fighting for something that will benefit the entire country,” she said. But enactment of Biden’s agenda is far from certain. There are bigger obstacles in the Senate, where the support of moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona will be needed for anything to pass. Both want the proposal scaled back. And while the liberals are fighting for Biden’s priorities, their stance risks dividing a party that remained mostly united through Donald Trump’s presidency. With thin margins in both the House and Senate, those splits could ultimately leave the party — as Biden told the caucus last week — with nothing. Some see an echo of the 2010 Tea Party wave. Like the progressives, the conservatives elected that year — who later formed the Freedom Caucus — often withheld their votes to shape the agenda and force concessions from their leadership. Jayapal rejects those comparisons to the Freedom Caucus, which she says is a “caucus of no.” The Congressional Progressive Caucus, she said, “is trying to get things done.” As chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, Jayapal has proven to be an ambitious foil to the moderates, following the path blazed by liberal icon Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator and former Democratic presidential candidate who is fighting for the progressive priorities in the Senate. But Jayapal seems to have another mentor in mind. She recently compared herself to Pelosi, who is renowned for her skill at counting and winning votes. “I am a good vote counter also,” Jayapal told reporters amid the negotiations. “I was an organizer for 20 years before I came to Congress, and I came in on a theory of change that if we really wanted to change politics so that they could work for working people, then we needed to be organizing on the inside,” Jayapal told The AP. “And so that’s what I’ve tried to do.” She said she answers texts “at all hours of the night” and has worked to build up a progressive caucus that was “more like a social club” when she first arrived in 2016. The caucus has also worked since Democrats won the House majority in 2018 to work more closely with outside allies. “We’re very, very strategic and coordinated,” Jayapal says. “So all of that I think has helped us to become a force, and it’s not something that happened overnight. It’s something we’ve been working towards for many years, over the last three years, and we’ve made incredible progress.” She also credits Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, liberals who ran to the left of Biden, with pushing him to embrace many of the ideas now at the heart of his social spending plan. “So when the president comes out and says this is my agenda, of course that helps us,” Jayapal says. “And we’ve elected more and more progressive members.”

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) is joining forces with other members of the 6-State Trooper Project to focus on speed, safety belt and impaired driving enforcement on Interstate 70 over the next 72 hours. The initiative began Friday and will continue through Sunday, according to an OSHP news release. The effort will include the Indiana State Police, Pennsylvania State Police and OSHP. Since 2020, there have been more than 4,700 crashes on I-70 in Ohio, including 27 fatal crashes, according to the OSHP. Of the 27 fatal crashes, 56 percent involved alcohol and drugs and 26 percent were speed related. Ohio troopers have arrested nearly 1,000 motorists impaired by alcohol and drugs on I-70 since 2020, the OSHP said. “Every traffic stop we make is a chance for our troopers to educate motorists on safe driving habits,” Colonel Richard S. Fambro, OSHP patrol superintendent, said. “We are committed to reducing unsafe driving behaviors on all of Ohio’s roadways, including the more than 225 miles that make up Interstate 70.” The 6-State Trooper Project is a multi-state law enforcement partnership between  Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania senators grilled turnpike executives over their efforts to collect unpaid tolls that amounted to $104 million last year during a hearing Wednesday, Sept. 22. The hearing was prompted by an Associated Press report regarding some 11 million rides that generated no revenue for the debt-hobbled agency. Transportation Committee Chairman Wayne Langerholc (R-Cambria) scolded the turnpike brass for not alerting him to the growing problem that he said “should have been a red flag within your department.” “Why was this not shared with us until a Right-to-Know (Law) request of the media?” Langerholc asked. Sen. Marty Flynn (D-Lackawanna) called the $104 million figure “just unacceptable.” “We’re talking about a tenth of a billion dollars,” Flynn said. An internal turnpike report issued in July and obtained by The AP through a Right-to-Know Law request indicated that motorists who do not use E-ZPass have a nearly 1 in 2 chance of riding without paying under the “toll-by-plate” license plate camera system. Turnpike Chief Executive Mark Compton assured the committee the agency takes the issue “very seriously” and is working to lower the amount of “leakage,” an industry term for free rides. Compton noted his agency’s 93% overall rate of collection on all rides is typical for turnpike operations across the United States. The turnpike laid off hundreds of toll collectors last year and speeded up its long-planned conversion to a cashless, all-electronic tolling system. Ideas floated by lawmakers during the hourlong hearing included requiring front license plates to make identifying vehicle owners easier, adding tolls on about 30 miles of turnpike at the Ohio border, and lowering the amount of unpaid tolls that trigger vehicle registration suspensions in Pennsylvania, a level currently at $500 over a three-year period. “To be honest, I think you need to reduce that number,” said Sen. Mario Scavello (R-Monroe). “Very rarely is someone spending that kind of number.” Compton said the turnpike uses two collection agencies to go after toll-by-plate scofflaws, paying the turnpike 10% of what they recover. It also pursues private criminal complaints with the help of local district attorneys and have filed what Compton called “a lot of lawsuits.” After three years, the turnpike writes off unpaid tolls, although there was a suggestion that even those long-overdue bills are worth going after. The turnpike’s July report said that in nearly half the instances in which license plate camera images were not usable, the reason was the plate was not in the frame of the photo. About 41% of the image failures were blamed on an obstruction such as a bike rack. In about 1.1% of manually voided images, the problem was attributed to intentional obstruction of the license plate. Compton said the turnpike would like to get reciprocal agreements with other states to go after unpaid bills, but that has proven difficult, in part, because of variation among states in how they penalize those who do not pay up. “I must tell you, there have not been a lot of suitors” to their partnership hopes, Compton said. He touted the turnpike’s 86% use of E-ZPass and told senators that working toward the goal of not having to mail out bills will help control costs. Langerholc sought more information from turnpike officials and said he has plans for a follow-up hearing, perhaps next week. By Mark Scolforo, The Associated Press

HOUSTON — Tropical Storm Nicholas hit the Texas coast early Tuesday, Sept. 14, as a hurricane and dumped more than a foot of rain along the same area swamped by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, drenching storm-battered Louisiana, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people and bringing the potential for life-threatening flash floods across the Deep South. Nicholas made landfall on the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula and was soon downgraded to a tropical storm. It was about 15 miles south-southwest of Houston, with maximum winds of 60 mph as of 7 a.m. CDT Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Nicholas was the 14th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. Galveston, Texas, saw nearly 14 inches of rain from Nicholas, while Houston reported more than 6 inches of rain — a fraction of what fell during Harvey, which dumped more than 60 inches of rain in southeast Texas over a four-day period. Nicholas is moving so slowly it will dump several inches of rain as it crawls over Texas and southern Louisiana, meteorologists said. This includes areas already struck by Hurricane Ida and devastated last year by Hurricane Laura. Parts of Louisiana are saturated with nowhere for the extra water to go, so it will flood, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. “It’s stuck in a weak steering environment,” McNoldy said Tuesday. So, while the storm itself may weaken “that won’t stop the rain from happening. Whether it’s a tropical storm, tropical depression or post-tropical blob, it’ll still rain a lot and that’s not really good for that area.” The storm was moving north-northeast at 8 mph, and the center of Nicholas was expected to move slowly over southeastern Texas on Tuesday and over southwestern Louisiana on Wednesday. Nicholas, expected to weaken into a tropical depression by Wednesday, and could dump up to 20 inches of rain in parts of central and southern Louisiana. Much of Texas’ coastline was under a tropical storm warning that included potential flash floods and urban flooding. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said authorities placed rescue teams and resources in the Houston area and along the coast. In Houston, officials worried that heavy rain could inundate streets and flood homes. Authorities deployed high-water rescue vehicles throughout the city and erected barricades at more than 40 locations that tend to flood, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday. “This city is very resilient. We know what we need to do. We know about preparing,” said Turner, referencing four major flood events that have hit the Houston area in recent years, including devastating damage from Harvey. Meteorologist Kent Prochazka of the National Weather Service told The Associated Press early Tuesday that Nicholas’ winds downed trees in coastal counties and caused some gas stations to lose awnings. “Right before it made landfall, it abruptly intensified into a hurricane and as it moved inland, the pressures began to rise with it. The winds have relaxed slightly and now we’re getting down into tropical storm force (winds),” he said. CenterPoint Energy reported that over 450,000 customers were without power as the storm rolled through Houston. Numerous school districts along the Texas Gulf Coast canceled classes Monday and Tuesday because of the storm. The weather threat also closed multiple COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites in the Houston and Corpus Christi areas and forced the cancellation of a Harry Styles concert scheduled for Monday evening in Houston. A tornado or two may be possible Tuesday along the upper Texas and southwest Louisiana coast, according to the weather service. Nicholas brought rain to the same area of Texas that was hit hard by Harvey, which was blamed for at least 68 deaths, including 36 in the Houston area. After Harvey, voters approved the issuance of $2.5 billion in bonds to fund flood-control projects, including the widening of bayous. The 181 projects designed to mitigate damage from future storms are at different stages of completion. McNoldy, the hurricane researcher, said Nicholas is bringing far less rain than Harvey did. “It’s not crazy amounts of rain. It isn’t anything like Hurricane Harvey kind of thing with feet of rain,” McNoldy said. Harvey not only stalled for three days over the same area; it moved a bit back into the Gulf of Mexico, allowing it to recharge with more water. Nicholas won’t do that.” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Sunday night, ahead of the storm’s arrival in a state. On Monday, Misty Tran dreaded the thought of Nicholas reaching as far east as her home south of New Orleans in Empire, Louisiana. Ida damaged the roof of Tran’s mobile home. A tarp covers the roof now, Tran said, but it wouldn’t be a match for even a weak storm. “A tarp can only do so much,” said Tran, helping clean up at a marina where she works. The storm was expected to bring the heaviest rainfall west of where Ida slammed into Louisiana two weeks ago. Ida has been blamed for 86 deaths throughout the United States. Across Louisiana, about 93,000 customers remained without power Tuesday morning, according to the utility tracking site poweroutage.us. Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said via Twitter that only four other years since 1966 have had 14 or more named storms by Sept. 12 — 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2020. By Juan A. Lozano. Associated Press writers Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jay Reeves in Empire, Louisiana; Julie Walker in New York; and AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — Shaken by haunting images of surging rivers, flooded roads and subways and other damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, lawmakers from both parties are vowing to upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure network. As the deadly storm moved from the Gulf Coast through the Northeast, members of Congress said the deluge offered irrefutable evidence that power lines, roads, bridges and other infrastructure are deteriorating even as storms and other extreme weather are strengthening. At least 50 people from Virginia to Connecticut died as storm water from Ida’s remnants cascaded into people’s homes and engulfed automobiles, overwhelming urban drainage systems unable to handle so much rain in such a short time. At least 16 deaths were blamed on the storm in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. “Global warming is upon us,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “When you get two record rainfalls in a week (in New York City), it’s not just coincidence. When you get all the changes that we have seen in weather, that’s not a coincidence. … It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, unless we do something about it.” Schumer and other lawmakers said the catastrophe is the latest example of why the nation needs the nearly trillion-dollar infrastructure bill passed by the Senate last month. He and other Democrats also are calling for passage of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion, partisan rebuilding plan aimed at helping families and combating climate change. “It’s so imperative to pass the two bills,” Schumer said. Democrats hope to pass both bills by the end of this month, but action on the bipartisan bill may be difficult until the larger package is ready. Progressives have said they won’t support a bipartisan bill without strong companion legislation to advance their priorities. Biden made a pitch Friday for the bipartisan bill, saying it “is going to change things on our streets across the country.” He cited the bill’s “historic investment” in roads, rail and bridges, as well as clean energy, clean water and universal broadband. “It’s about resilience,” Biden said. “Make our roads and highways safer. Make us more resilient to the kinds of devastating impacts from extreme weather we’re seeing in so many parts of the country.” The plan includes $110 billion to build and repair roads and bridges and $66 billion to upgrade railroads. It also includes about $60 billion to upgrade the electric grid and build thousands of miles of transmission lines to expand use of renewable energy and nearly $47 billion to adapt and rebuild roads, ports and bridges to help withstand damage from stronger storms as well as wildfires and drought. “If we’re going to make our country more resilient to natural disasters, whatever they are, we have to start preparing now,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. Cassidy, a lead negotiator on the bipartisan bill, has touted the infrastructure legislation as a boon to hurricane-prone states such as his. “I’m sure hoping that Republicans look around my state, see this damage and say, ‘If there’s money for resiliency, money to harden the grid, money to help sewer and water, then maybe this is something we should be for,’” he told CNN. Ultimately, repair and replacement of roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Ida and other natural disasters are likely to be funded by Congress as emergency relief money. But the bipartisan bill will be valuable in providing major investments in “future-proofing” infrastructure against climate change and extreme weather such as Ida, according to Jeff Davis, a senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation, a Washington think tank. The bill would be the first to devote money for “climate resilience,” including $17 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers to address backlogs in federal flood control projects. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would receive $492 million to map inland and coastal flooding, including “next-gen” modeling and forecasts. Another $492 million would go toward improving the resilience of coastal communities to flooding by restoring natural ecosystems. The legislation also provides $3.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help communities reduce the risk of flood damage and $8.7 billion for the Transportation Department to award grants to states to improve resiliency in ports and other coastal infrastructure. “We have to start planning for what the future might hold and do modeling that’s going to help us predict what these future risks are going to be,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told “Fox News Sunday,” calling the increasing frequency of severe storms that intensify more rapidly “a new normal” because of climate change. “These threats aren’t going to go away, and we need to start to reduce those impacts.” The U.S. had 22 climate and weather disasters in 2020 with losses exceeding $1 billion each, with eight such disasters this year as of July 9, according to NOAA. Ida and its remnants will likely cost in the tens of billions, analysts say. Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., said a bipartisan infrastructure bill is needed, but the bill approved by the Senate could harm oil-producing states such as Louisiana by freezing out benefits for states that encourage fossil-fuel production. The Democratic-only bill is even worse, Graves said, calling it “a final nail in the coffin” to the offshore oil industry, which is already struggling because of the pandemic and the hurricane. “All this does is benefit Iran,” Graves said. “It benefits Russia. It benefits China.” In an interview, Graves said he would prefer to use emergency spending to help Louisiana and other states hit by the hurricane. That way, money “is tailored to the disaster” and based on need, not ideology, he said. But Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, said emergency spending, and even the bipartisan infrastructure bill, is not sufficient to address the threat of climate change. “We have not taken the bold measures we need to protect our families and our way of life and our communities that we cherish,” he said. Potosnak, whose central New Jersey neighborhood was flooded by Ida, said storms are increasing in intensity and frequency, with at least seven “100-year storms” in the past few decades. “I hope this storm is a reminder to all our elected officials: This is what climate change looks like,”’ Potosnak said. “Congress needs to act to match the challenge we face.”

LUCEDALE, Miss. — Two people were killed and at least 10 others were injured late Monday night, Aug. 30, when their vehicles plunged into a deep hole where a Mississippi highway collapsed after Hurricane Ida blew through. Meanwhile, Interstate 10 between New Orleans and Baton Rouge was open only to emergency traffic. Officials announced Tuesday afternoon that the state’s interstate system was completely reopened to traffic. Torrential rain may have caused the highway collapse in Mississippi, and the drivers may not have seen that the roadway in front of them had disappeared Monday night, Mississippi Highway Patrol Cp. Cal Robertson said. “Some of these cars are stacked on top of each other,” he said. Seven vehicles were involved, including a motorcycle. A crane was brought in to lift them out of the hole. WDSU-TV reports that state troopers, emergency workers and rescue teams responded to Highway 26 west of Lucedale, Mississippi, about 60 miles northeast of Biloxi, to find both the east and westbound lanes collapsed. Robertson said the hole is 50 to 60 feet long and 20 to 30 feet deep. The identities and conditions of the of those involved in the accident have not yet been released. More than 8 inches of rain fell in the area during Ida, according to the National Weather Service. Between 3,100 and 5,700 vehicles drive along the stretch of two-lane highway on an average day, according to Mississippi Department of Transportation data. Back in Louisiana, the state’s department of transportation said that I-10 exit ramps at Highway 51 in LaPlace are closed due to flooding. I-55 northbound is also closed from Hammond to the Mississippi state line due to fallen trees blocking the road. Hurricane Ida blasted ashore Sunday as a Category 4 storm, one of the most powerful ever to hit the U.S. mainland. It knocked out power to much of southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, blowing roofs off buildings and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) wants to hear from the nation’s professional drivers, and is conducting a poll to find out what motivates drivers to work as owner-operators, independent contractors or company drivers. This initiative was identified by ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee as a top priority in 2020. Drivers are asked to provide input through an online data collection form that will measure what job-related factors contributed to becoming an owner-operator, an independent contractor or a company driver, and whether those expectations have been met. ATRI believes the information collected will provide valuable insight into understanding how drivers could be impacted by legislative and regulatory actions that may impact the way in which drivers are classified. “This ATRI data collection initiative will be critical to understanding why drivers choose the type of employment they do. The motivations behind these choices and their level of satisfaction are important for understanding what types of employment opportunities drivers are looking for and why,” said Tom Weakley, OOIDA Foundation Director of Operations and a member of ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee. To fill out the data collection form, click here. The deadline for completing the survey is Friday, Sept. 17, 2021. All submitted data will be kept strictly confidential, and participants will receive an advance copy of the full report.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) announced July 6 the approval of a 5% toll increase for 2022 for both E-ZPass and toll-by-plate customers. The increase is slated to start at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2022 and will be effective across the entire system except on the Southern Beltway (PA Turnpike 576) west of Pittsburgh. E-ZPass drivers will continue to receive the lowest toll rates across the PA Turnpike. Non-E-ZPass customers can download the PA TOLL PAY smartphone app to create an autopay account. Like all previous annual increases since 2009, the measure is generally required to meet escalating debt-service costs resulting from the PTC’s payments to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for transit operations under Pennsylvania Acts 44 and 89. This year, however, there is one significant difference: Under those statutes, the PTC plans to make its final annual payment of $450 million later this month. “[This] action is the first time in six years that the rate of increase is under 6%,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “Starting in July 2022, our transit funding requirement to PennDOT under Act 44 of 2007 will be cut to $50 million annually. Finally, we are seeing a light at the end of this very long tunnel. In addition to breathing a huge sigh of relief ourselves, it enables us to begin to offer some relief to customers from those heftier toll increases and refocus on essential improvements to our roadway.” Beginning in July 2022, the $400 million in annual transit funding that had been provided by the PTC will be funded by the Commonwealth’s Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax (MVSUT) as prescribed by Act 89 of 2013. Act 89, however, does not eliminate the commission’s debt, future debt service or funding obligation. Even with this relief, the PTC is still responsible for annual payments to PennDOT of $50 million until June 2057, and it must continue to pay down debt incurred from previous borrowing needed to fund Act 44 payments. “The Act 44 sunsetting spelled out in Act 89 of 2013 is critical if the PTC is to remain fiscally sound as an organization and for the economic vitality of Turnpike-connected communities,” Compton said. “But it’s important for customers understand that, even with the reduced obligation, we are still looking at annual toll increases of 5% from through 2025, 4% in 2026, 3.5% in 2027, then 3% annually from 2028 to 2050.” Because of borrowing required by the Act 44 funding plan, the PTC currently has annual Act 44 debt-service obligations of nearly $400 million. Due to the terms of these bonds, the PTC’s Act 44 debt service will continue to rise even though borrowing has ended. Act 44 debt service will grow to an annual maximum of nearly $600 million by 2038 before it starts to decrease. Because of the PTC’s action, the most-common toll for a passenger vehicle next year will increase from $1.60 to $1.70 for E-ZPass customers and from $3.90 to $4.10 for toll-by-plate customers. The most common toll for a Class 5 tractor-trailer will increase from $13 to $13.70 for E-ZPass and from $26.60 to $28 for those who use toll-by-plate. The cashless toll for a passenger vehicle at the westbound Delaware River Bridge will increase from $6.10 to $6.50 for E-ZPass customers and from $8.20 to $8.70 for toll-by-plate customers. The PTC also approved the toll-rate schedule for the opening of the Southern Beltway slated for October. Tolls for the Southern Beltway will include the application of the 45% additional charge that is in place on the turnpike system. However, there will be no January 2022 toll increase for the Southern Beltway. The PTC first started making Act 44 payments to PennDOT in August 2007. It has increased tolls annually since 2009, providing $7.45 billion in toll-backed funding to PennDOT in 14 years. After the 2022 increase is applied, E-ZPass and TOLL BY PLATES rates for both passenger and commercial vehicles will round up to the next dime. The PTC will post a 2022 trip calculator and toll schedule online this fall. Visit https://www.paturnpike.com/toll/tollmileage.aspx.

LOS ANGELES — A massive explosion rocked a Los Angeles neighborhood June 30 as homemade fireworks were being destroyed by a bomb squad, leaving a trail of destruction, injuries and questions in its wake as the July Fourth holiday approaches. Seventeen people were hurt — including nine Los Angeles police officers and a federal agent — in the blast, which also flipped and damaged cars and smashed windows in homes and a laundromat. The explosion was heard blocks away. It could take days to determine why the material exploded inside a spherical containment vessel on a tractor-trailer, tearing the rig apart in what was supposed to be a safe operation to handle explosives that were too unstable to remove from a South Los Angeles neighborhood where tons of illegal fireworks were discovered. The one-ton lid of the vessel flew into a backyard two blocks away, breaking a lemon tree and damaging the house, KNBC-TV reported. Experts say the explosion was highly unusual, especially for a law enforcement agency with the size and resources of the Los Angeles Police Department. The blast could have been the result of human error — such as not correctly sealing the vessel or over-loading it with material — or a defect in the equipment like a micro-fissure that has grown with time and use. Or both. “They were very lucky that nobody got killed here,” said Glenn Corbett, a fire science professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Bomb squads nationwide will likely now double-check their own equipment in remote locations, to be sure there aren’t potential defects in their containment vessels, which cost tens of thousands of dollars, that could hurt more people, Corbett said. The LAPD did not answer questions July 1 seeking information such as how old the containment vessel was and how many times it had been used and inspected. But Chief Michel Moore previously said “clearly, protocols were followed and pursued.” “But something happened in that containment vessel that should not have happened, and we don’t know why,” Moore said. “But we intend to find out why.” Less than 10 pounds (4.54 kilograms) of material was placed in the chamber, far less than its safety rating, Moore said. He described the material as 40 home-made devices the size of Coca-Cola cans with simple fuses and 200 smaller but similar devices. “This vessel should have been able to dispose of that material,” he said. But instead there was a “total, catastrophic failure of that containment vehicle.” Typically, the heavy-duty hydraulic doors will latch and lock — usually by remote — and the detonation is instantaneous. The displaced blast wave is absorbed by the vessel and released outside safely. “You wouldn’t even know,” said Sean Dennis, president and co-founder of the United States Bomb Technician Association, besides a muffled ding and a light hiss when some of the pressure is released. The LAPD has not said what company made the containment device. Attempts to reach several manufacturers July 1 were unsuccessful. The explosion came after police had spent the day disposing of about 3,000 to 5,000 pounds (1,360 to 2,268 kilograms) of commercial-grade fireworks that were found in the home following an early-morning tip. Police found some of them on a patio in cartons stacked 8 to 10 feet (2.44 to 3 meters) high, Moore said. Fireworks are illegal to sell or possess in Los Angeles and in unincorporated areas of the county. A resident, Arturo Cejas, 27, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a destructive device, but he also may face charges of child endangerment because his 10-year-old brother was in the home, Moore said. It wasn’t immediately known whether Cejas had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. The fireworks cartons were marked “Made in China.” The police chief said they were bought out of state in order to sell them in the neighborhood for use on the Fourth of July. Peter Diaczuk, a forensic science professor at John Jay, said the size of the blast indicated high-explosive devices that wouldn’t be used for a local Independence Day celebration. As the holiday approaches, fire departments statewide are confiscating tens of thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks and warning users that setting them off could lead to devastating wildfires. Los Angeles police on July 1 announced that they seized another ton of illegal fireworks from a shipping container, and the bomb squad trucked it to a storage facility. In LA, Moore said June 30 that three box trucks and a 53-foot (16-meter) trailer were brought in to load up the fireworks at the South Los Angeles home and move them to a safe location. However, the “improvised explosives” that were also found were too dangerous to move, the chief said. There was a 300-foot boundary around the vessel — a typical safety range — and police had knocked on doors before the blast to evacuate homes on both sides of the street where the truck was parked. But firefighters later found people in some of the homes, officials said. It’s not unusual for bomb squads to not know exactly what comprises the homemade explosives they are detonating, Diaczuk said. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with. You don’t know what this character made,” he said. “It doesn’t come with ingredients in it like when you go to the grocery store.” By Stefanie Dazio and Robert Jablon, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led House approved a sizable $715 billion transportation bill Thursday, July 1, a potential investment in roads, rail, public transit and water over five years that could serve as a marker in the negotiations over a bipartisan infrastructure package. The bill passed largely along party lines by a vote of 221-201. President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators have already agreed to a blueprint for a new infrastructure package, but it has not yet been turned into legislation. House Democrats will be pushing to include many of their bill’s provisions when Congress negotiates the broader bipartisan product this summer. The primary author of the House bill, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said the investment being proposed would allow the country to repair bridges, roads and tunnels, thereby increasing the country’s economic competitiveness while also tackling what he called the country’s “new existential challenge, which is climate change.” “We have to rebuild in ways that we never even thought about before. It’s going to be expensive, but the good news is, it is going to create millions, millions of good paying jobs,” DeFazio said. The legislation provides a potential building block toward Biden’s broader infrastructure proposals. It serves as a starting point for some of the public works investments under discussion, but leaves the decision about how to pay for them for another day. Biden has suggested raising the corporate tax rate to fund infrastructure investments, but Republicans oppose that and would vote against it. The bipartisan group of 10 senators negotiating a nearly $1 trillion plan narrowed on a variety of potential funding sources that don’t involve tax increases. House Republicans took issue with the transportation bill being considered Thursday because it doesn’t include a funding mechanism. Republicans argued the new spending on infrastructure would increase the deficit and ramp up inflation, hurting families when they buy gas and groceries. They also protested the exclusion of their proposals to further streamline the permitting process so that large infrastructure projects could be completed more quickly and at less cost to taxpayers. Rep. Sam Graves, the ranking Republican on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, noted that Democratic efforts last year to pass an infrastructure bill failed after the then-Republican-controlled Senate declined to take it up. “Successful legislating requires partnership — not partisanship,” Graves said. The partisan divide stands in contrast to efforts in the Senate, which this year overwhelmingly passed a $35 billion water infrastructure bill, 89-2, and where a key committee unanimously passed a bill earlier this year focused on funding for roads and bridges. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had set a goal of passing an infrastructure bill in the House before July 4. Last year, Congress was unable to reach agreement and opted to pass a short-term reauthorization of transportation programs, which will expire Sept. 30. Biden is eager for Congress to pass a bipartisan plan that would boost spending on roads, bridges, rail and other more traditional forms of infrastructure, which means putting together a package that could get 60 votes in the evenly split 50-50 Senate. Votes on the nearly $1 trillion proposal agreed to last week are expected by the end of July. DeFazio said he was encouraged by the bipartisan Senate blueprint. The proposed spending levels for roads, bridges and public transit are comparable to what is called for in the House bill, he said, though the spending for rail and water infrastructure is far short of the House’s bill, which calls for tripling spending for Amtrak as well as $45 billion for the replacement of water lines containing lead. The House proposal also includes some elements designed to counter climate change. Transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. The House bill seeks to make alternatives to driving more attractive by boosting funding for public transit and rail. It also dedicates $4 billion to electric vehicle charging stations to speed and ease an increased use of electric vehicles. By Kevin Freking, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has announced a hard-earned bipartisan agreement on a pared-down infrastructure plan that would make a start on his top legislative priority and validate his efforts to reach across the political aisle. But he openly acknowledged Thursday, June 24, that Democrats will likely have to tackle much of the rest on their own. The bill’s price tag at $973 billion over five years, or $1.2 trillion over eight years, is a scaled-back but still significant piece of Biden’s broader proposals. It includes more than a half-trillion dollars in new spending and could open the door to the president’s more sweeping $4 trillion proposals for child care and what the White House calls human infrastructure later on. “When we can find common ground, working across party lines, that is what I will seek to do,” said Biden, who deemed the agreement “a true bipartisan effort, breaking the ice that too often has kept us frozen in place.” The president stressed that “neither side got everything they wanted in this deal; that’s what it means to compromise,” and said that other White House priorities would be taken on separately in a congressional budget process known as reconciliation, which allows for majority passage without the need for Republican votes. He insisted that the two items would be done “in tandem” and that he would not sign the bipartisan deal without the other, bigger piece. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and progressive members of Congress declared they would hold to the same approach. “There ain’t going to be a bipartisan bill without a reconciliation bill,” Pelosi said. Claiming a major victory five months into his presidency, Biden said, “This reminds me of the days when we used to get an awful lot done up in the United States Congress.” Biden, a former Delaware senator, said that as he put his hand on the shoulder of a stoic-looking Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio as the president made a surprise appearance with a bipartisan group of senators to announce the deal outside the White House. But the next steps are not likely to be nearly so smooth. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell complained that Biden was “caving” to Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s plan to “hold the bipartisan agreement hostage” for the president’s bigger package of what he called “wasteful” spending. “That’s not the way to show you’re serious about getting a bipartisan outcome,” McConnell said. And there is plenty of skepticism on Biden’s own left flank. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said the bipartisan agreement is “way too small — paltry, pathetic. I need a clear, ironclad assurance that there will be a really adequate robust package” that will follow. Thursday’s deal was struck by the bipartisan group led by Portman and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, including some of the more independent lawmakers in the Senate, some known for bucking their parties. “You know there are many who say bipartisanship is dead in Washington,” Sinema said. “We can use bipartisanship to solve these challenges.” And Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, “It sends an important message to the world as well that America can function, can get things done.” The proposal includes both new and existing spending on long-running programs and highlights the struggle lawmakers faced in coming up with ways to pay for what have typically been popular ideas. The investments include $109 billion on roads and highways and $15 billion on electric vehicle infrastructure and transit systems as part of $312 billion in transportation spending. There’s $65 billion toward broadband and expenditures on drinking water systems and $47 billion in resiliency efforts to tackle climate change. Rather than Biden’s proposed corporate tax hike that Republicans oppose or the gas tax increase that the president rejected, funds will be tapped from a range of sources — without a full tally yet, according to a White House document. Money will come from $125 billion in COVID-19 relief funds approved in 2020 but not yet spent, as well as untapped unemployment insurance funds that Democrats have been hesitant to poach. Other revenue is expected by going harder after tax cheats by beefing up Internal Revenue Service enforcement that Portman said could yield $100 billion. The rest is a hodgepodge of asset sales and accounting tools, including funds coming from 5G telecommunication spectrum lease sales, strategic petroleum reserve and an expectation that the sweeping investment will generate economic growth — what the White House calls the “macroeconomic impact of infrastructure investment.” The senators from both parties stressed that the deal will create jobs for the economy and rebuild the nation’s standing on the global stage, a belief that clearly transcended the partisan interests and created a framework for the deal. “We’re going to keep working together — we’re not finished,” Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said. “But America works, the Senate works.” Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana said it will show the world “we’re not just, you know, a hot mess here.” For Biden, the deal was a welcome result. Though for far less than he originally sought, Biden had bet his political capital that he could work with Republicans toward major legislation. Moreover, Biden and his aides believed that they needed a bipartisan deal on infrastructure to create a permission structure for more moderate Democrats — including Sinema and Joe Manchin of West Virginia — to then be willing to go for a party-line vote for the rest of the president’s agenda. The announcement leaves unclear the fate of Biden’s promises of massive investment to slow climate change, which Biden this spring called “the existential crisis of our times.” Biden’s presidential campaign had helped win progressive backing with pledges of major spending on electric vehicles, charging stations, and research and funding for overhauling the U.S. economy to run on less oil, gas and coal. The administration is expected to push for some of that in future legislation. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) stressed that there are billions of dollars for resiliency against extreme weather and the impact of climate change and deemed Thursday’s deal a “beginning investment.” Biden has sought $1.7 trillion in his American Jobs Plan and the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan for child care centers, family tax breaks and other investments that Republicans reject as far outside the scope of “infrastructure.” The broad reconciliation bill would likely include tax increases on the wealthy, those earning more than $400,000 a year, and hike the corporate rate from 21% to 28%, so a tension still exists over funding for some Republicans and business groups. It’s still a long haul to a bill signing at the White House. The Senate expects to consider the bipartisan package in July, but Biden’s bigger proposal is not expected to see final votes until fall. By Jonathan Lemire, Josh Boak and Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press. Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Mary Clare Jalonick, Alan Fram, Matthew Daly and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

MT. JULIET, Tenn. — A truck driver was killed Wednesday morning, June 23, when the tractor-trailer he was driving struck an Interstate 40 overpass in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, just east of Nashville. According to News Channel 5 Nashville, the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) confirmed the crash happened shortly after 5 a.m. at the Mt. Juliet Road overpass. THP officials said the driver, Luthor Stinson, 80, of Nashville, Tennessee, lost control of the rig, traveled onto the right shoulder of the interstate, went through the guardrail and a support column before bursting into flames. The accident was in a construction zone where the overpass bridge is being widened, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) says, and caused “severe damage” to the column. Repair work is expected to take up to three weeks. During the repairs, lane restrictions will be in place on I-40 West and Mt. Juliet Road North: I-40 West will be reduced to three lanes approaching the interchange; Juliet Road North will be reduced to three lanes — two turn lanes to I-40 West and one through lane to Mt. Juliet Road North. I-40 East traffic exiting onto Mt. Juliet Road North at Exit 226B will yield to Mt. Juliet Road traffic (no free flow movement). TDOT anticipates shifting westbound interstate traffic closer to the median to maintain three travel lanes. Message boards are in place near the interchange to alert motorists of lane closures and shifts. The timeline for repairs is dependent on the condition of the support column; bridge inspectors will be on site throughout the repairs to determine if more work needs to be done.

WASHINGTON — Patience running thin, Democratic leaders are laying the groundwork for a go-it-alone approach on President Joe Biden’s big jobs and families infrastructure plans even as the White House continues negotiating with Republicans on a much more scaled-back $1 trillion proposal. A top White House adviser assured House Democrats during a closed-door session Tuesday, June 15, that there would be a fresh assessment by next week on where talks stand with the Republicans. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced he is moving ahead, huddling privately today (Wednesday, June 16) with the Senate Budget Committee to prepare for July votes on a majority-rules approach as wary Democrats prepare to lift Biden’s $1.7 billion American Jobs Plan and $1.8 billion American Families Plan to passage. Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are trying to calm worries from anxious rank-and-file Democrats that Biden is leaving too much on the table in talks with Republicans. Restless lawmakers want assurances that if they concede to a scaled-back bill with Republicans, it won’t be the last word and the president’s push for investments in climate change strategies, child care centers and other Democratic priorities will proceed — with or without GOP votes. “We’ll see where we’re going to go after a week or 10 days (of) more dialogue and negotiation,” White House counselor Steve Ricchetti said Tuesday, according to a partial transcript of the private caucus meeting obtained by The Associated Press. The updated timeline comes as Biden’s top legislative priority is teetering in Congress while he is overseas. The president and the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate have been engaged in a two-track strategy — reaching for a bipartisan deal with Republicans but also setting the stage for a potential majority-rules strategy in case talks fail. Over the past week, a bipartisan group of 10 senators has narrowed in on a nearly $1 trillion deal of mainly road, highway and other traditional infrastructure projects, but without the family-related investments in child care centers and other facilities that Ricchetti insisted Tuesday remains a top priority for the administration. Republicans reject those investments as costly and unnecessary. “Just ask a working mom if child care is part of her family’s infrastructure,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich). “Ask a family with an aging parent who needs help to live at home safely if home care is infrastructure. We understand that it is.” On Tuesday, the members of the bipartisan group of senators presented the emerging proposal to their colleagues at closed-door Senate lunches and were met with mixed reviews. The effort by the bipartisan group, five Democrats and five Republicans, has come far in meeting Biden’s initial ideas, but the senators and the president remain wide apart over how to pay for the plan. Republicans have rejected the president’s proposal to raise the corporate tax rate, from 21% to 28%, to pay for infrastructure investments, or to increase taxes on wealthy Americans. Instead, under the bipartisan proposal, the projects would be funded by increasing the gas tax paid at the pump by linking it to inflation, tapping unspent COVID-19 relief funds and trying to recoup unpaid income taxes. “People were optimistic we could actually get something done,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), emerging from the lunch meeting. But the prospect of raising the gas tax is highly unpopular with some Democratic lawmakers, echoing Biden’s refusal to raise taxes on people earning less than $400,000 a year. Sen. Ron Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, described it as “another hit on working people.” “To me, their idea that they’re going to raise taxes on working people while letting multinational companies and the most wealthy Americans off the hook is a nonstarter,” Wyden said. “I mean, where is the fairness in that?” Biden is also facing skepticism from Democrats who want to see robust investments in strategies to fight climate change — for electric vehicle charging stations, money to bolster communities’ response to harsh weather conditions and funds for public transit that many rural state Republicans oppose and that have been dramatically reduced in the bipartisan plan. “There has to be a guarantee, an absolute unbreakable guarantee, that climate is going to be at the center of any infrastructure deal that we cut,” said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). “We cannot let our planet down,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). “This has to be part of the deal.” The White House plans to give the bipartisan infrastructure negotiations another week to 10 days before assessing the next steps, but insisted there was no deadline to this latest round of talks. Deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said Ricchetti conveyed to the lawmakers that “we are certainly going to know where things stand on infrastructure talks generally in the next week to 10 days, and that we can then take stock overall. But he did not set a deadline or cutoff.” Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), the House Budget Committee chair, said the plan is, if bipartisan talks falter, to move “full steam ahead” on considering a package as soon as July under special reconciliation rules that would enable majority passage without the need for Republican votes. With the Senate narrowly split, 50-50, Democrats are skeptical at least 10 Republicans will join to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to advance most legislation over a filibuster. Democrats are pushing to use budget reconciliation rules that would allow passage on a simple majority vote of 51 votes in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to serve as a tiebreaker. The package being prepared by the House Budget Committee would include both the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. These are Biden’s ambitious proposals to build not just roads and highways, but also the so-called human infrastructure of child care, veterans care and education facilities. Schumer will convene a meeting today of the Democratic senators on the Budget Committee, urging them to rally around a “Unity Budget,” according to a senior Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private session. Schumer will instruct the 11 Democratic senators on the panel to ensure that key climate and care-giving components are included in the framework — including a plan to reduce U.S. electricity emissions by 80% by 2030. “The White House made it clear to us that we should be prepared to proceed on two tracks,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus. “We’re prepared to do what is necessary to get the American Jobs Plan over the finish line.” By Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking, The Associated Press. Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.