Sunday shows preview: Infrastructure push revs up

Talks between the White House and Senate Republicans over a bipartisan infrastructure plan are expected to dominate the Sunday shows this week as congressional Democrats eye moving forward within weeks.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will appear this weekend on ABC’s “This Week,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday” as the administration seeks to press ahead on the issue.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who has led efforts by Senate Republicans to negotiate a bipartisan agreement, will appear separately on “Fox News Sunday.”

President Biden and the GOP continued their efforts to reach a deal on infrastructure this week, though they remain far apart over the topline spending figure.

On Thursday, Senate Republicans unveiled a $928 billion infrastructure proposal — substantially more than the $568 billion plan introduced in April, yet still far below the $1.7 trillion the White House has put forward.

Capito told reporters that the Republicans “continue to negotiate in good faith.”

“We’re trying to get to that common goal of reaching a bipartisan infrastructure agreement that we talked about in the Oval Office with the president several weeks ago and I talked with him even previous to that,” she said this week.

The GOP proposal calls for $46 billion for passenger and freight rail, $21 billion for safety, $22 billion for ports and waterways, $56 billion for airports and $72 billion for water infrastructure.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that the offer was “constructive” but said some concerns still remain.

“We remain concerned that their plan still provides no substantial new funds for critical job-creating needs, such as fixing our veterans’ hospitals, building modern rail systems, repairing our transit systems, removing dangerous lead pipes, and powering America’s leadership in a job-creating clean energy economy, among other things,” Psaki said.

Biden wants to have a proposal passed by the summer.

Buttigieg told CNN on Monday that there was “a lot of daylight” between both sides on a potential agreement.

Also this week, the Senate failed to advance legislation creating a bipartisan commission to examine the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The Senate voted 54-35 to advance the measure, but fell short of the 10 GOP votes needed to get over an initial hurdle.

The measure would have created a 10-member commission to investigate the attack. Senate Republicans were expected to block the measure, having raised concerns about its impact on the 2022 election cycle.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told his colleagues that he could force another vote on the measure.

Here’s this week’s full Sunday show lineup:

ABC’s “This Week” — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Thomas Bossert, former White House homeland security adviser; retired Gen. Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency.

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Matthew Pottinger, former White House homeland security adviser; Peter J. Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine; Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.); former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.).

CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo; Kevin Washington, president and CEO, YMCA of the USA; Stephen Kaufer, president and CEO, Tripadvisor; Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO, Mental Health America.

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Buttigieg; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.); Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas).

“Fox News Sunday” — Buttigieg; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).