Dem Rep. Porter: ‘What We’re Doing Here Is Not an Infrastructure Bill’

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Stephanie Ruhle Reports,” Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) stated that she wouldn’t agree to smaller legislation that focuses solely on hard infrastructure “Because what we’re doing here is not an infrastructure bill. It is an economic recovery bill.” And “This is an economic package. It’s not an infrastructure package.”

Host Stephanie Ruhle asked, “Republicans are working with the White House. If they agree to a smaller bill just focused on hard infrastructure, roads, bridges, transportation, could you get behind that for the time being?”

Porter responded, “No. Because what we’re doing here is not an infrastructure bill. It is an economic recovery bill. So, infrastructure, hard infrastructure is a part of our economic recovery. But our economy is not going to fully bounce back from COVID-19, is not going to be on a path to be globally competitive going forward unless we address some of the other issues that workers face. And so, we have to be making investments in the people who do the work. We talk so much about jobs and they are so important. But we also have to have people who are able to take those jobs, who are trained to do it, who are earning a living wage, who are safe in their workplace, who have places for their kids to go. This is an economic package. It’s not an infrastructure package. Infrastructure is part of our economy and that’s how I think about it. And I think that’s how most…Americans think about it.”

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