Senators to pitch bipartisan infrastructure plan to Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan gang of senators is seeking President Joe Biden’s support for a $953 billion infrastructure plan, raising hopes for a breakthrough agreement after arduous negotiations on his top legislative priority.

Biden has invited members of the group of 21 senators, Republicans and Democrats, to the White House on Thursday. The pared-down plan, with $559 billion in new spending, has rare bipartisan backing and could open the door to the president’s more sweeping $4 trillion proposals.

The senators have struggled over how to pay for the new spending. The tentative framework dipped by $20 billion after a shift in funds for broadband internet, according to details from a person familiar with the proposal who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

The White House and Democratic leaders cast the bipartisan proposal as a positive development. Biden’s top aides had met with senators for back-to-back meetings on Capitol Hill and later huddled with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“We’re very excited about the prospect of a bipartisan agreement,” Pelosi said Wednesday night. The president's press secretary, Jen Psaki, said Biden had called for the meeting at the White House and that the group had made progress “towards an outline of a potential agreement.”

One member of the group, Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, said it was time for the group to reach out to other senators for support.

“In good faith, we tried to get there. We didn’t agree on everything, but we were able to get there,” Portman told reporters on Capitol Hill as he left a Wednesday evening meeting with the other senators and the White House team.

Biden has sought $1.7 trillion in his American Jobs Plan, part of nearly $4 trillion...