Dems eye $6T plan on infrastructure, Medicare, immigration

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are eyeing a $6 trillion infrastructure investment plan that goes far beyond roads and bridges to include core party priorities, from lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60 and adding vision and hearing benefits to incorporating a long-running effort to provide legal status for certain immigrants, including “Dreamers."

The Senate is preparing a budget document, alongside one in the House, that puts a new focus on President Joe Biden’s big legislative proposal and shows the scope of what Democrats want to accomplish with a go-it-alone approach, separate from any possible bipartisan deal.

Back from his overseas trip, Biden is reengaging with Congress as the administration and its allies on Capitol Hill embark on a two-pronged strategy: reviewing a nearly $1 trillion plan from a group of 21 senators, including 11 Republicans, while pursuing their own priorities in a more substantial package.

Half of the total in the $6 trillion plan is expected to be paid for, largely with Biden’s proposed taxes on corporations and those earning more than $400,000. Details emerging Thursday were confirmed by a person who was not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity. Initial Senate votes are expected in July.

“We have an enormous amount of work in front of us,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said after making a closed-door presentation to colleagues late Wednesday.

Sanders, I-Vt., would not disclose details. He indicated that the size and scope is needed to “address the crisis facing working families, to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, to deal with climate change, to deal with the needs of children and parents to deal with the affordable housing crisis.”

The goal, he...