AP: “Looking beyond the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, President Joe Biden and lawmakers are laying the groundwork for another top legislative priority – a long-sought boost to the nation’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure that could run into Republican resistance to a hefty price tag. Biden and his team have begun discussions on the possible outlines of an infrastructure package with members of Congress, particularly mindful that Texas’ recent struggles with power outages and water shortages after a brutal winter storm present an opportunity for agreement on sustained spending on infrastructure.”

“Republicans say if the White House approach on the COVID relief bill – which passed the House Saturday on a near party-line vote and now heads to the Senate – is a sign of things to come for Biden’s plan on infrastructure and other initiatives, it could be a difficult road ahead in Congress. A White House proposal could come out in March. ‘Now is the time to be aggressive,’ said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a former South Bend, Indiana, mayor who knows potholes. At a conference with state and local highway officials Thursday, he referred to the often-promised, never-achieved mega-initiative on roads, bridges and the like from the Trump administration. ‘I know you are among those who are working and waiting most patiently, or maybe impatiently, for the moment when Infrastructure Week will no longer be a kind of Groundhog’s Day promise – but actually be something that delivers generational investments,’ he said.”