NEW YORK — Rep. Jamaal Bowman issued the following statement Thursday following a Washington Post report that President Biden indicated he would be open to reducing the size of his infrastructure plan down to $1 trillion and leaving Republican corporate tax cuts in place:
“If what we’ve read is true, I would have a very difficult time voting yes on this bill. $2 trillion was already the compromise. President Biden can’t expect us to vote for an infrastructure deal dictated by the Republican Party.
“The crises we face are immense and urgent. We have an economic crisis, a climate crisis, and a racial injustice crisis. We have a historic opportunity to act, and history won’t judge us kindly if we let it pass us by. Republicans have given Democratic governance the middle finger since the day President Biden was inaugurated. We can’t — and won’t — reward them by keeping Donald Trump’s corporate tax cuts in place and slashing our infrastructure package in half.
“Racist infrastructure has damaged districts like mine for generations. Their holistic care is not for compromise. Republicans don't only discredit this — they’ve worked to unravel it. We can’t compromise against the best interest of working class people. No Republican vote in favor of an infrastructure package should supersede our mission: to build an America that works for the people, not for massive corporations. Getting Republicans on board is not necessary. Getting the American people back on their feet is.”
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