Cleaver laments lack of money for affordable housing in Biden’s infrastructure deal

President Joe Biden’s closest political ally in Missouri expressed his disappointment Thursday that the bipartisan infrastructure deal struck by Biden and senators omits money for affordable housing, a central component of president’s initial vision for infrastructure.

Missouri Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver praised the president for finding consensus, but he also criticized the absence of housing provisions.

“While I am pleased President Biden has been able to bridge the divide between parties and find a bipartisan infrastructure deal, the failure to include funding for affordable housing is a bipartisan disservice to the American people,” Cleaver said in a statement Thursday evening.

Cleaver, who chairs subcommittee that oversees housing policy, said he planned to communicate his strong concerns to House Democratic leadership as he continues to review the overall package.

“If a substantial investment in affordable housing is not included in either infrastructure package, I cannot possibly be anything more than underwhelmed,” he said.

Cleaver, a former Kansas City mayor, endorsed Biden early in the 2020 presidential campaign and served as a campaign surrogate.

He met with Biden on infrastructure at the White House earlier this year and pressed the importance of affordable homes, telling The Star in April that “95 % of everything I said had to do with housing.”

Biden’s original $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal included more than $200 million for affordable housing, a proposal Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said could lead to thousands of new homes in Kansas City.

Cleaver was a vocal supporter of the plan, but it gained little traction with Republicans and risked running afoul of the Senate’s filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes for most legislation.

Biden announced his support for a compromise Thursday that would spend $973 billion over five years and $1.2 trillion over eight years if extended, roughly half his initial proposal. The housing provisions championed by Cleaver and Lucas were among the items dropped from the bipartisan plan.

The Senate plan would steer the bulk of the money to roads, bridges and other projects that Republicans regard as fitting the more traditional definition of infrastructure.

Cleaver acknowledged in an interview last month that the housing spending might need to be reduced to garner GOP support.

“The president is strongly, strongly in support of housing as infrastructure,” Cleaver said at the time. “Now I want this package to be approved. If the housing provision is reduced, I won’t like it but I’ll understand. It’ll be easier for me to understand because I know where the president stands on it.”

But the housing provisions aren’t just reduced. They’re now entirely absent.

A group of 21 senators have signed onto the bipartisan plan, including Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran.

“Today, we’re proud to advance this bipartisan proposal to make a historic investment in America’s critical infrastructure needs, advance cleaner technologies, create jobs, and strengthen American competitiveness, without raising taxes,” the senators said in a joint statement Thursday.

“This agreement shows that the two parties can still come together, find common ground, and get things done that matter to everyday Americans. We are happy to have President Biden’s support, and will now get to work enlisting the support of colleagues on both sides of the aisle.”

Biden said he expect Democrats to move forward with his other proposals through the budget reconciliation process, which would allow them to pass the Senate with 51 votes. He said Thursday that he won’t sign the bipartisan bill unless it’s followed with a reconciliation bill.

However, that could cause Republicans to back away from the bipartisan plan.

Moran’s office said Thursday that he is seeking assurances from moderate Democrats, specifically West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, that they will not move forward with reconciliation after passing the $1 trillion infrastructure plan.