Kentucky Republicans likely to break with McConnell on infrastructure
Kentucky Republicans appear poised to split with Sen. Mitch McConnell on the bipartisan infrastructure package when they return to Congress in late September.
Most of the commonwealth’s five GOP U.S. House members are expected to cast votes against the approximately $1.2 trillion bill for roads, bridges, public transportation and waterways, framing it as wasteful and a permission slip for Democrats to clear their larger budget priorities.
Rep. Andy Barr of Lexington explained his opposition as an objection to Democrats’ two-step strategy to muscle through a $3.5 trillion social spending package as a condition for approving the Senate’s infrastructure legislation.
“I will continue to oppose this process until these two so-called infrastructure bills are delinked and Congress focuses solely on upgrading roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure instead of engineering a permanent socialist state,” Barr said in a statement to McClatchy.
But the congressman also told KET he opposed the merits of the McConnell-backed infrastructure package that earned the support of 19 Senate GOP members. Kentucky’s junior senator, Rand Paul, voted against it.
“I have problems with that as well, even if it’s a stand alone,” he said on Kentucky Tonight. “If they are any way tied together, it’s a non-starter for me … because it dishonors the taxpayers I represent.”
Republican Rep. James Comer of Tompkinsville told McClatchy in an interview he was an unequivocal “no” on the infrastructure bill.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of infrastructure in there,” Comer said. “I think the environmental regulations in there are burdensome and unnecessary, so I just think it’s another bad, liberal bill. I’m not making any bones about it, I’m going to vote no.”
Democrats, clinging to a 4-vote majority in the House, have little room for defections on President Joe Biden’s legislative priorities. Progressives have demanded that the larger spending package be approved before the separate infrastructure bill, irritating both their moderate colleagues and GOP lawmakers. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears poised to heed their insistent request, delaying the infrastructure vote until Sept. 27.
The infrastructure bill, which includes $550 billion in new spending, would provide $4.6 billion for Kentucky highways and an additional $438 million for bridge replacements, according to the White House.
The Senate Minority Leader’s eventual support for the bill was one of the most curious questions hanging over the process. In early June, McConnell declared the era of bipartisanship “over,” but later gave his Senate lieutenants ample space to negotiate a deal that a significant portion of his caucus could be comfortable with.
Still, Comer predicted most of his Kentucky congressional colleagues would end up casting no votes. He said he’s felt no pressure from McConnell to get on board with the infrastructure bill.
“He’s been in Washington longer than anybody and he has his reasons to do things. I think it’s a bad bill. I don’t hold any animosity towards McConnell,” Comer said.
House members in both parties have expressed annoyance that they have had little input on the content of a bill wholly designed by the Senate.
But Rep. Hal Rogers said he would gladly vote for a bill that would flood the state with much needed improvements, including money for rural broadband Internet access.
“Kentucky will receive a big chunk of that funding, which we desperately need as well. So yes, I’ll vote for it and cheer,” Rogers said on Kentucky Tonight.
Barr has named numerous projects he’d like to see funded with federal infrastructure dollars, including the Newtown Pike Extension for the University of Kentucky, a new road for Central Kentucky Airport in Madison County and the Brent Spence Bridge that is integral to regional commerce.
But in the interview with KET, he contended that the bipartisan bill would send more dollars to mass transit and inner-city infrastructure than places like the 6th congressional district.
“I think it’s inequitable from the standpoint of rural America,” he said. “Rural America really would be left behind.”
He said he’s not convinced any of his priority projects would receive funding under the Senate writing of the bill.
Infrastructure remains a political bright spot during a dark August for Biden, who has seen his popularity drop amid the deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan.
An Ipsos/ABC News poll taken late last week found that 62% of American adults approve of his handling of infrastructure.
But since his vote in favor of the legislation, McConnell hasn’t said much about it, surely aware of the divided feelings about it within his own party.
Speaking before a Farm Bureau breakfast last week, McConnell devoted most of his speech to Democrats’ budget reconciliation strategy, which he pledged to fight.
“This is a hell of a fight, you’re going to watch it here over the next couple of months,” he said.
“We’re going to fight like heck to try to keep this crowd from turning America into something I don’t think any of us voted for last year.”
But ultimately, Democrats’ success will depend on their own ability to unify their disparate House caucus more so than anything McConnell can do.
Comer acknowledged he was surprised that Democrats unified on the initial vote to proceed with the massive $3.5 trillion spending bill, suffering no defections.
“Once again Nancy Pelosi won and got 100% of her conference to vote for a socialist agenda,” Comer said of last week’s vote. “Never underestimate Nancy Pelosi’s ability to get all of her Democrats to vote however she tells them.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Kentucky Republicans likely to break with McConnell on infrastructure."
