Pelosi vows to pass $1T infrastructure bill this week, move ahead on larger measure
HOPE YEN
WASHINGTON (AP) — With President Joe Biden’s broad domestic
agenda at risk of collapse, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday vowed that
Democrats will pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill this week and push ahead
on the bigger $3.5 trillion social safety net and climate change bill while
acknowledging the total amount will drop.
Biden spoke with lawmakers over the weekend on the path
forward, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to discuss
the private conversations. Extensive work was being done behind the scenes to
shore up support.
When asked Sunday if Pelosi had the votes to pass the $1
trillion infrastructure bill, Biden told reporters at the White House, “It’s
going to take the better part of this week.”
Pelosi had originally pledged to House moderates a vote on
the infrastructure legislation by Monday, but she said Sunday in a letter to
colleagues that vote will now be Thursday. With Democratic divisions, the extra
time allowed space for negotiations on the broader bill, so both bills could
advance. The $1 trillion infrastructure plan passed the Senate last month.
“Let me just say that we’re going to pass the bill this
week,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said earlier Sunday on ABC's “This Week.” She added:
“I’m never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn’t have the votes. You cannot
choose the date. You have to go when you have the votes in a reasonable time,
and we will.”
Still, in a delicate balancing act aimed at achieving the
near Democratic unanimity needed to push the sprawling package through, Pelosi
made clear that Biden’s proposed $3.5 trillion for social spending and climate
initiatives will need to be trimmed.
Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of
Arizona have said they won’t support a bill of that size. Manchin has
previously proposed spending of $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, an amount that
progressives have called unacceptable for a bill they originally envisioned at
$6 trillion.
Asked on ABC if she agrees the final number on the so-called
reconciliation bill will be “somewhat smaller” than $3.5 trillion, Pelosi
responded: “That seems self-evident.”
“We’ll see how the number comes down and what we need,” she
added. “Again, the Senate and the House, those who are not in full agreement
with the president, right, let’s see what our values — let’s not talk about
numbers and dollars. Let’s talk about values.”
“I think even those who want a smaller number, support the
vision of the president, and this is really transformative.”
Her comments reflected the enormous stakes for the coming
week, one that could define the Biden presidency and shape the political
contours of next year’s midterm elections.
Along with personal phone calls from the president, several
Cabinet officials, senior staff and others were reaching out to lawmakers over
the weekend, the White House official said.
Democrats have few votes to spare in the House and no votes
to spare in the 50-50 Senate if there is no Republican support to enact Biden’s
massive “Build Back Better” agenda. Republicans are lockstep against the larger
measure.
Biden, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,
D-N.Y., have led a behind-the-scenes hunt for compromises to resolve internal
divisions and, they hope, allow approval of the mammoth bill soon.
The House Budget Committee on Saturday advanced a $3.5
trillion, 10-year bill strengthening social safety net and climate programs,
though one Democrat voted “no,” illustrating the challenges party leaders face.
The bill, which is certain to be revised before House voting, would be paid for
with taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who led a group of House
moderates in pushing a quick vote by Monday on the infrastructure bill, said
Sunday he wouldn’t be bothered by a slight delay. He was optimistic both pieces
of legislation could be resolved this week.
“If the vote — the way these things work, if you start
debating it and it rolls over to Tuesday, ... I think we’re all reasonable
people,” Gottheimer said. “There’s too much on the line here for our country.”
In setting Thursday’s vote, Pelosi noted it’s also the
deadline for related transportation programs, many of which are in the
infrastructure bill.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who heads the Congressional
Progressive Caucus, said members of her group won’t be willing to support the
infrastructure plan until there is “ironclad” agreement in the House and Senate
on the reconciliation bill. She didn’t rule out additional cuts to the $3.5
trillion proposal to reach agreement.
“If somebody wants to take something out, we need to hear
what that is,” she said.
Pelosi didn’t commit when asked on ABC about a vote this
week on the social spending and climate bill, which Democrats intend to pass
with a simple majority without GOP support. She suggested that House-Senate
agreement could be reached this week, depending on rulings from the Senate
parliamentarian on what provisions could be included.
“We are ready on our side,” Pelosi said. “We just have to
see how quickly the parliamentarian can operate.”
The overall bill embodies the crux of Biden’s top domestic
goals, with billions for rebuilding infrastructure, tackling climate change and
expanding or introducing a range of services, from free prekindergarten to
dental, vision and hearing aid care for seniors.
But there are broad disputes on paying for the legislation
as well as over which initiatives should be reshaped, among them expanded
Medicare, tax breaks for children and health care, a push toward cleaner energy
and higher levies on the rich and corporations.
Republicans say the proposal is unneeded, unaffordable amid
accumulated federal debt exceeding $28 trillion and reflects Democrats’ drive
to insert government into people’s lives. Its tax boosts will cost jobs and
include credits for buying electric vehicles, purchases often made by people
with comfortable incomes, they said.
Gottheimer spoke to CNN’s “State of the Union," and
Jayapal appeared on CBS' “Face the Nation.”
Bridgeport housing authority asks feds for time to address issues
BRIDGEPORT — The city’s public housing authority wants extra
time to respond to federal requirements after the struggling agency was labeled
in default of a plan to improve its management and living conditions for its
9,500 residents.
In four separate letters, Jillian
Baldwin, the authority’s executive director since June 2020, the agency’s
mayoral-appointed board, tenant leaders and Bridgeport’s congressional
delegation all appealed to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
to grant the authority another in a history of extensions.
“While (we have) made phenomenal progress over the past
year, a tremendous amount of work remains ahead,” Baldwin wrote. “The deadlines
established in the notice of default create a situation wherein the agency will
be overly burdened administratively and forced to choose between its continued
progress and complying with the short timelines.”
“We understand and support the need for aggressive oversight
of the authority. We have long been dismayed by the lack of progress,” U.S.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, all
Democrats, said in their correspondence to HUD.
However, the three lawmakers stated that the “depressing
trajectory changed significantly” when Baldwin took over and she and her staff
need “flexibility, time and assistance” to meet the list of default demands.
Rhonda Siciliano, a HUD spokesperson, said Friday the
department “is still reviewing the extension request.”
Nearly seven years ago, in December 2014, HUD designated the
authority, officially called Park City Communities, as “troubled” due to poor
grades of its management, its finances and its aged low-income developments.
Park City, technically, then had two years to right the situation or face
penalties including takeovers by either the federal government or another
Connecticut housing entity.
But instead HUD only last month, on Aug. 19, formally
declared that Park City Communities was “in substantial default” for
continuing, despite ongoing improvement efforts, to languish in troubled
status. According to HUD, Bridgeport’s authority is the only such agency in
Connecticut currently in such a dire condition.
Subsequently HUD issued a list of demands for information
about how the authority was remedying the situation, each with a deadline of
two to six months.
So, for example, within 60 calendar days of the default
declaration, the authority was required to hand in several budget documents to
the federal government, including “a narrative explanation of projected fiscal
year 2022 subsidies, rent income, utility costs, deficits, cost saving measures
(and) staffing plans consistent with its repositioning strategy.”
The authority was given 120 days to submit a “draft property
management plan” for addressing the “health, safety and livability needs” at
its apartment buildings.
And Park City Communities has 180 days to turn over another
plan on the future of those structures and what is being done to either sustain
them in the long-term or replace them. The authority has over the past several
years been
slowly transitioning from all-low-income buildings to mixed-income sites,
demolishing the old developments and partnering with private firms to construct
and manage the new ones. The latest property targeted
for such an overhaul is the Charles F. Greene Homes.
Cowlis Andrews is a current member of Park City’s board and
that group’s former chairman. On Thursday Andrews said the pleas for the
extensions boil down to this already being a busy time of year for “limited
staff” with “limited time.”
“We are working on normal business items, we are cleaning up
... issues and this presents another layer of reporting,” Andrews said. “Sept.
30 is the end of the federal fiscal year and our team starts to prepare for
audits and reports to HUD annually. In addition, it is the end of the (fiscal)
quarter and that’s an additional set of reports that are due.”
Bridgeport’s public housing has been plagued with problems
for the past few decades, from Ganim’s first tenure in office, which ended in
2003, through the administrations of predecessors John Fabrizi and Bill Finch,
to when Ganim was reelected in 2015.
Baldwin
in an interview earlier this week said that soon after she was hired
last year following a national search, HUD warned her that the agency was going
to be declared in default. She insisted, though, that despite that label the
situation has been greatly improving under her leadership.
“There were 141 recovery action items that had to take place
to bring the agency out of troubled status and monitoring from HUD,” Baldwin
said. “That was seven years ago. When I came here in 2020 ... 61 (action items)
remained open.” She and her staff have reduced that to 26, Baldwin said.
Tenant leaders in their recent letter to HUD expressed
support for Baldwin and her team.
“Although it will take some time, progress is being made and
we have witnessed many constructive and encouraging changes,” the group wrote.
Ridgefield officials mull options to bring sewer project to fruition
Alyssa Seidman
RIDGEFIELD — Construction of a new pump line connecting two
of the town’s sewer plants will break ground a year later than expected due to
overage costs caused by the pandemic.
The installation of the infrastructure and subsequent
closure of the District II sewage treatment plant, which serves the area around
the intersection of Routes 7 and 35, was estimated to cost $5.8 million. The
bids for that project, however, came in “substantially over what the estimate
was,” First Selectman Rudy Marconi said.
The lowest bid came from M&O Construction Co., Inc. in
New Milford at $8.3 million. Additional “soft costs,” such as on-site
engineering, brings the total expenditure to more than $9 million, Marconi
said.
“What we are looking at is a difference of ... over $3.4
million,” he added.
The question now is where the remaining funds to complete
the project will come from. The town could either bond the money itself or
use a portion of its American Rescue Plan allocation.
Because Ridgefield’s charter requires a referendum to
approve an expenditure of more than $3 million, officials are eyeing to bring
the cost below $3 million and move the item to a town meeting instead.
“To go to a referendum costs money as well,” Marconi
explained.
On Monday, Marconi met with the town clerk, the registrar of
voters and finance director Kevin Redmond to discuss potentially holding a
referendum on Oct. 9. They also discussed potentially earmarking $500,000 from
the Water Pollution Control Authority, which would bring the cost down to $2.9
million.
Additional grant funding could shave another $600,000 off
the total, Marconi added, meaning the town would use less of the American
Rescue Plan money.
The WPCA oversees all of Ridgefield’s sewer operations. This
Monday members will convene to possibly vote on approving additional funds for
the project, according to a meeting agenda.
A
top-to-bottom renovation of the District I treatment plant on South
Street is approximately 50 percent complete. The goal is to close the District
II plant and pipe that wastewater to South Street for treatment at the upgraded
District I plant through a new force-main sewer line.
Voters approved $48 million for the two projects in 2018.
Both were designed and are being overseen by the consulting firm AECOM.
The state pushed the town to undertake the project to meet
new regulations and environmental standards under the federal Clean Water Act.
Upgrades to the District II plant, which is 30 years old, were sidelined since
the town would’ve had to hire personnel to operate the facility 24/7.
“When you begin calculating all of those costs to upgrade
the plant due to age and environmental standards, it’s extremely expensive,
hence the reason to go with the pump station,” Marconi said. “The capacity
numbers will not be impacted at all. Everyone who has sewage capacity in that
plant today will have it tomorrow.”
Marconi expects the second phase of the sewer project to break ground in the spring of 2022.
STAMFORD — Stamford school construction projects have
historically received relatively few state dollars, so local officials are
considering a different tactic: special legislation.
That’s the route Norwalk
Public Schools took in 2020, and the district was able to secure 80 percent
funding for a new high school.
Paula Clarke, a state lobbyist who works with the city of
Stamford, suggested that as an alternative plan during a Long Term Facilities
meeting Thursday night.
Stamford is looking for funding for two projects: a
near-complete reconstruction of the district’s biggest school, Westhill High
School, and a new building at 83 Lockwood Ave. to house a preschool program.
Rebuilding Westhill alone would come with an estimated $250
million price tag, while the Lockwood redevelopment is projected to cost around
$80 million.
Previously, Mayor David Martin said he believes the city can
fund about $125 million of the combined cost over the next five to seven years
without affecting the city’s bond rating.
To fund the rest, the city will depend largely on state and
federal dollars.
The more typical process is to submit projects to the
state’s Department of Administrative Services, which Stamford has already done.
That body then makes recommendations to the governor and legislature about
which projects to fund, and how much to fund them.
But the formula used to decide state funding has resulted in
Stamford getting little reimbursement in the past, Clarke said.
That’s a scenario officials want to avoid, since the
Westhill and Lockwood projects they are looking to fund would
cost roughly $330 million combined.
“It is unfortunate that Stamford has suffered from the
formula being the way it is, because you do get a very low (reimbursement)
percentage,” Clarke said.
The other option is special legislation, but Clarke said the
key to that is making sure the entire Stamford legislative delegation is on
board and advocating for more funding.
She said Stamford does have the benefit of a strong
delegation with members placed in key committees.
State legislators Corey Paris, Patricia Billie Miller and
Kimberly Fiorello serve on the Education Committee. Miller also serves as a
vice chairperson on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, where Paris
also holds a seat.
“Those are the two key committees to shepherd your money
through,” Clarke said.
However, Clarke did warn local elected officials about
pursuing special legislation for both Westhill and Lockwood.
The initial plan for Westhill is to build a new structure —
a four-level school on top of the baseball fields located behind the current
school — and then demolish the existing Westhill building.
The Lockwood project would involve either renovating or
rebuilding the former home of the Trailblazers Academy charter school and
turning it into the new home for the district’s early childhood education,
known as Apples.
“It would be very extraordinary to pursue two projects like
this,” Clarke said. “You might need to make the hard decision about which one
it is you’re looking to seek special legislation around.”
Martin responded, “I want more than that,” and listed
Roxbury Elementary School, Hart Elementary School, Toquam Magnet Elementary
School, and Cloonan Middle School as the four
other schools on the priority list to be rebuilt. Repairs on many of the
schools are needed now, he said.
“There’s just a whole slew of them that are all a result of
50 years of under-funding,” he said.
Rentschler Field, CT Convention Center need $3.5M of work
Terry Corcoran
It may seem like the Connecticut Convention Center and
Rentschler Field are relatively new additions to Greater Hartford, but the
reality is that both facilities are getting old.
Rentschler Field opened in 2003 and the Convention Center in
2005. And like anything that’s aging, they need work.
The Capital Region Development Authority’s board of
directors recently voted to authorize their executive director to apply to the
state Bond Commission for $3.5 million to replace cooling towers and install a
new elevator at the Convention Center, and for a comprehensive building
assessment and HVAC repairs at Rentschler Field.
Of the $3.5 million request, $2 million would be used to
replace the cooling towers, also called chillers, on top of the Convention
Center. In addition to cooling the Convention Center, the chillers run
refrigeration for the Hartford Marriott Downtown next door.
An independent engineering consultant who assessed the
18-year-old chillers said they’re in danger of failing. They have been serviced
several times over the years and are leaking water.
CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said the chillers
should be replaced during the winter months when there’s less need for air
conditioning. The $2 million includes removing and replacing the chillers,
located on the Convention Center roof.
“It will require serious crane work,” he said.
If the Bond Commission approves the CRDA’s request, $1
million would be used to install a second elevator in the Convention Center. While
original plans included a second elevator shaft, the second elevator was never
installed as a cost-saving measure.
But with COVID limiting the number of people who can travel
in an elevator, Freimuth said it makes sense to install the second elevator.
The remaining $500,000 would be used to hire a consultant to
prepare a major engineering assessment of Rentschler Field and for HVAC repairs
there.
“The stadium is approaching 20 years old and its lifecycle
demands that we pay attention to it,” Freimuth said. “We’re asking to get ahead
of the curve.”