After lots of back and forth, Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senator said he thinks the bipartisan infrastructure deal he’s been working on with President Biden’s administration will happen.
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman said he and fellow lawmakers in the bipartisan working group realize the need for money for roads and bridges. Portman helped negotiate a nearly trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill with Biden last month.
“Forty three percent of roadways are considered to be in poor or mediocre condition. We have 46,000 bridges in America that are considered structurally deficient," Portman said.
One in need of work is the Brent Spence bridge that connects Cincinnati and Kentucky.
Portman said all recent former presidents have also wanted to do an infrastructure bill. He added upgrades to the nation's infrastructure are needed to make sure the United States is competitive in the global marketplace. Portman said the sticking point now is how to pay for it.
Over the weekend, Portman appeared on CNN
and said a proposal to strengthen IRS enforcement to raise money to help pay for the bill's spending is officially off the table.
