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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday appeared to backtrack somewhat from her earlier statements that Washington’s “Phase 4” response to the coronavirus crisis ought to include big spending on infrastructure.
“While I’m very much in favor of doing some things we need to do to meet the needs — clean water, more broadband, the rest of that — that may have to be for a bill beyond this,” the California Democrat said in an interview Friday on CNBC. She talked about focusing in a fourth response on providing more direct payments to Americans and extending unemployment insurance.
Those remarks came after she and other top Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday detailed what they aim to achieve in a bipartisan infrastructure deal, mentioning not just transportation projects but also work on health centers, drinking-water systems and broadband internet.
Top Republican lawmakers in the past week have been skeptical of Pelosi’s push for a fourth coronavirus bill, while President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for $2 trillion in infrastructure spending and used the term “Phase 4.” Trump again sounded supportive on the topic Friday afternoon, predicting “a big package on infrastructure fairly soon.”
Pelosi seemed to make an effort to clarify her stance later Friday, releasing a statement that called for coming up with an infrastructure plan.
“As we fight the virus day to day, we must work on an infrastructure package for recovery that addresses some of the critical impacts and vulnerabilities in America that have been laid bare by the coronavirus,” the statement said. The statement said it was “imperative” to do more for small businesses, the health-care system, health workers, and state and local governments, as well as do more on unemployment benefits and direct payments.
