As the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues to grow, calls have grown stronger from lawmakers to enact an infrastructure package as a method of boosting the economic recovery. On a Democrat conference call on Monday, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina) discussed his desire to pass an infrastructure package with funding for broadband and water, subsequently follow-up by roads and bridges as his desired order of priority. Representative Clyburn also reiterated his belief that everyone should have access to broadband, especially in rural areas, and compared the necessity to the projects of rural electrification that occurred during the New Deal era.
On the Republican side, President Trump has repeatedly called for increased infrastructure investments for a future coronavirus recovery bill. However, on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said that he would not support infrastructure in a future recovery bill. He stated that “both Democrats and the White House both need to get the message" that infrastructure will need to be a separate bill.