Biden to meet with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure

President Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are expected to meet Thursday with a bipartisan group of House lawmakers to discuss infrastructure as the administration starts looking beyond the coronavirus relief bill to one of its next legislative priorities.

Biden, Buttigieg and Vice President Harris are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office with eight members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, including Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and ranking member Sam Graves (R-Mo.).

The meeting will also include leaders of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit — Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) — and Reps. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).

Biden campaigned on a $2 trillion infrastructure proposal that would repair U.S. roads and bridges, create jobs and address climate change. Biden’s predecessor, former President Trump, campaigned on rebuilding America’s infrastructure but never accomplished it during his four years in office.

Biden’s first weeks in office have been focused on ushering a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package through Congress. The president is likely to lay out his recovery plan, which is expected to include significant investments in infrastructure, at some point in the near future. The White House says he will do so after the passage of his coronavirus relief bill, which the Senate is taking up this week after it passed the House.

Thursday’s meeting is the latest effort by Biden to involve Republicans on discussions about legislative priorities, though thus far he has been unsuccessful in attracting GOP support for his COVID-19 relief proposal.

Biden and Buttigieg last month met with a bipartisan group of senators on infrastructure, including the leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) and ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).