Capito, who, as the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, is stuck in the middle of the struggle, said she's crafting a "conceptual Republican bill" that includes investments in roads and bridges. "We're working on that right now. We haven't made consensus on it," she said. A counteroffer is key to beginning any process that might resemble negotiations. While Congress was hammering out a massive Covid-19 relief bill this year, 10 Republicans offered a $618 billion counteroffer to Biden's $1.9 trillion plan, presenting it as an option to reach bipartisan agreement. But now, the lack of a GOP alternative could make it easier for Democrats to again throw up their hands and move ahead with a partisan bill that uses a budget maneuver to avoid the filibuster. Some Democrats aides already doubt that Republicans will accept any deal.