Trump Interest Prompts Democrats to Ready Infrastructure Funding in COVID-19 Bill
House Democratic leaders said Wednesday they plan to move forward on infrastructure funding legislation as part of the next package addressing COVID-19 when the chamber reconvenes, citing President Donald Trump’s recent interest. Trump said Tuesday he wants the next bill to include $2 trillion in infrastructure spending (see 2003310070). Democrats’ calls for broadband funding to be a part of the next bill have grown since Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (HR-748) last week (see 2003260063).
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“We need to invest in our infrastructure to address some of the critical impacts and vulnerabilities in America that have been laid bare,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said during a conference call with reporters. “I think we come back April 20, God willing and coronavirus willing, but shortly thereafter we should be able to move forward.” Pelosi is “pleased” Trump “returned to his interest” in infrastructure funding because it’s “essential" amid "the historic nature of the health and economic emergency.” Trump last year halted infrastructure talks with Pelosi and others because of investigations into his administration (see 1905220076).
House Democrats' Wednesday proposal largely mirrors the $760 billion plan leaders released in January (see 2001290052). Pelosi said it’s “probably in the same ballpark” as Trump’s $2 trillion ask. She told reporters Democrats plan to roll out more specific parts of the revised plan in the coming days, including education provisions. House Democrats’ Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act counterproposal to an earlier Senate version of what became HR-748 included a $2 billion allocation to the FCC for schools and libraries to give students, teachers and library patrons Wi-Fi hot spots, connected devices and mobile broadband service for those devices during the pandemic (see 2003230066).
The plan continues to include $86 billion in funding over five years for broadband projects and $12 billion for next-generation 911 upgrades, House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey told reporters. The revised proposal adds in $10 billion for community health centers, which House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina said will in part “ensure that each center has access to the internet.” Clyburn said his all-Democratic House Task Force on Rural Broadband influenced the plan. The framework’s $5 billion NTIA-administered broadband loan funding plan appears to mirror the Broadband Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (HR-4127), and a proposal for $1.4 billion for digital equity investments expands on proposals in the Digital Equity Act (HR-4486/S-1167).
“For once, I agree with” Trump “on a step he wants to take,” House Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., told reporters. He has “yet to see” a formal plan from the Trump administration. DeFazio also noted reluctance by GOP leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California. Those leaders will likely “move on this issue” if the administration follows through, DeFazio said.
“As the legislation from the first three phases is implemented, Republicans stand ready to work across the aisle to support the individuals and institutions that will need more help in the fight against the virus,” McCarthy said in a statement. Americans "cannot afford the distraction of continued attempts to force partisan objectives into our response.”
Supporters of broadband-focused funding legislation told us they view Trump’s renewed support for infrastructure legislation and Democrats’ ongoing push as signs there’s more legislative momentum than at any time since the 2016 election.
“There’s going to have to be another economic support measure” in coming months to bolster the economy, producing a “convenient coalescing of interests” that significantly increases the likelihood of a bipartisan deal, said Internet Innovation Alliance honorary Chairman Rick Boucher, a Democratic ex-House Communications Subcommittee chairman from Virginia. Addressing the “chronic” lack of broadband access in many rural communities would be “good” for everyone. “We have to think big” on broadband funding as part of the next COVID-19 bill, with tens of billions of dollars needed, Boucher said.
Odds of the bill including significant broadband funding "are high," said Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Blair Levin. "I think it will happen, but not quickly" given GOP leaders have been pushing for a delay while HR-748 and previous bills take effect. The appetite for major infrastructure appropriations will likely increase because "the economy is going to get worse," much as the extent of the pandemic wasn't clear as recently as early March, Levin said. "Broadband is one of the things people agree" could help stimulate a sagging economy.
“Hopefully, this is the wake-up call” that has been needed to bring all parties to negotiations on infrastructure legislation, said Public Knowledge Senior Policy Counsel Jenna Leventoff. She believes any final bill should look at long-term connectivity issues rather than target only immediate needs highlighted by expanded use of telework, telehealth and distance learning services amid the epidemic. “This isn’t just a short-term issue,” Leventoff said. “We need to be prepared if there’s another pandemic,” but “people are always going to need the internet.”