While Buttigieg hinted on Sunday that the vote on both laws is near, he did not say whether some unresolved progressive issues, such as negotiating lower drug prices and paid family leave, would be included in the spending plan. He also did not say whether he could guarantee that Democrats in the House of Representatives would pass both laws this week, instead reiterating that it was “the closest we’ve ever been.”
Buttigieg admitted that the spending framework reached by the administration was “not perfect”, but noted that it was “extremely important, useful and good for Americans” and “must be passed on”.
“Could we still work on what we hope to do? Of course there is and we will continue to fight for it, “Buttigieg said.” But what we have on the table at the moment, in this context, is historical, it’s good politics and of course good politics is good politics. “
Buttigieg also argued that passing the Infrastructure Act is a key step in addressing supply chain issues in the country, and said: “The best thing we can do in the long run for pricing and supply chain issues is better infrastructure so we can goods in that country undisturbed. “
In a separate interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday morning, the transport minister reiterated that backlogs in the supply chain are not helped by “outdated” infrastructure. He added that the pandemic also contributed greatly to the crisis – “which made holes in supply, no matter how good any company or any administration is.”
“We will continue to work on things like port problems and smooth out everything else that is under our control,” Buttigieg said. “But the only way we can really leave these disruptions behind is to put the pandemic in the back mirror, so the president has resolutely led to that.”