Thread by @ChadPergram

A) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to What to Watch for With the Infrastructure Bills

B) A couple of things to watch for as Democrats assemble their massive $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill and lawmakers and aides are still toiling behind the scenes on the smaller, bipartisan infrastructure proposal.

C) The first thing is that we still don’t have bill text on the bipartisan plan. There are starting to be real questions as to whether this agreement will hold. It will come down to specifics.

D) Lawmakers are also looking to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for a score. This is where it will get tricky. CBO won’t be able to evaluate the true cost estimates of certain proposals. They are “unscoreable.”

E) Look for lawmakers – depending on their viewpoint – to either embrace or reject the bipartisan plan based on the squishiness of potential CBO projections.

F) Frankly, some lawmakers want it that way. They can then cherry-pick whether they are for or against the bill – based on a true lack of hard evidence.

G) They key for the advocates of the bipartisan bill is whether or not they have enough lawmakers who are satisfied with the pliability of the CBO numbers.

The timing of this remains way up in the air.

H) One senior House Democrat involved in the process couldn’t predict when or how the House would tackle the bill(s). The lawmaker said it would take a while for Democrats to vet the legislation. And moderate/conservative Democrats will want to see if the pay-fors are solid.

I) On the broader bill, Fox is starting to hear concerns about the staggering cost of the larger bill, if Democrats in fact add coverage for vision and dental to Social Security. The key to look for there: are there sunsets.

J) That could be enough to coax some lawmakers to vote yes. But “sunsets” will be a word you hear a lot in the coming weeks about the viability of this legislation.

K) The Progressive Caucus has largely embraced the larger bill. But Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) described this as a “down payment” and said there should be more.

So, we’re back to another key: is the bill paid for.

L) “We’re going to pay for this bill,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) to Fox.

M) Democrats keep talking about enhanced IRS enforcement and going after the mega-wealthy.

“The public is strongly with us that everybody should pay their fair share,” said Wyden.

N) But look for Republicans to boomerang this approach on the Democrats.

O) Expect the GOP to portray enhanced tax enforcement as “big government” or sending the tax collector after people. Republicans believe concerns about extra taxes and a more muscular IRS could help them derail the bill, or, at least help them at the polls in 2022.