Congress is Placing Gamesmanship and Partisan Interests Above the National Interest

Washington, DC – Congress is placing gamesmanship and partisan interests above the national interest. Bipartisan Policy Center President Jason Grumet issued the following statement:

“It is time for both parties to end the partisan politics and work for the American people. Today’s action by the Senate to pass a 30-day extension of the highway funding bill is the latest example of gamesmanship by Democrats and Republicans. While today’s Senate action keeps the estimated 3,700 federal workers on the job, it’s the latest stop gap measure by Congress. Lawmakers need to end these short-term extensions and instead pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Speaker Pelosi announced today that a new deadline for a vote on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will be at the end of October. That should give all sides enough time to reach an agreement.

“There is little question that a majority of House members and Americans support the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) on its merits. Some House Democrats want to exploit the bill’s popularity to gain leverage on other legislation and most Republicans appear unwilling to support any agenda embraced by President Biden. The losers in this political posturing are the American people.

“Every day Congress fails to act, American communities lose jobs, our global competitiveness grows a little bit weaker, and we fail to make the investments needed to confront climate change. The House must reconvene and adopt this critical legislation. Our message to Congress, vote on this and let the infrastructure bill produce real results for the American people.”