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Although GOP-led efforts to overhaul the health care system and American tax code drew partisan rancor on Capitol Hill, at least one Massachusetts Democrat said he believes his party is willing to work with the White House on a bipartisan infrastructure package. 

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, a Springfield Democrat and ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he thinks "there's room" for compromise on infrastructure improvements in spite of recent spats between the two parties.

Democrats' openness to working with President Donald Trump and the GOP, however, could wane if Republican leaders again work to draft legislation behind closed doors and attempt to move it without the minority party's input, the congressman offered.

Another possible complication to moving an infrastructure bill, Neal said, could come from Republicans.

"I think there's strong support for infrastructure improvement ... The president committed to it during the course of last year's campaign, and I think his problem is going to be with the Republican Party -- not with Democrats," he said in a recent interview. "We want an infrastructure bill." 

Neal contended that Trump could have "a real problem" selling a $1 trillion infrastructure spending package to the Republican Party -- which just approved a $1.5 trillion tax plan.
The congressman added that although Democrats are "going to have to wait and see" if they can trust GOP leaders to reach a bipartisan agreement on infrastructure, the addition of Democrat Doug Jones to the Senate and upcoming mid-term elections could make such a consensus more likely in 2018.

"I think they're anxious. They've got to demonstrate some bipartisanship, and the president did campaign on the theme of infrastructure," he said. "So we're going to have to wait and see. I think that the country understands that you need a big infrastructure plan."Trump told the New York Times last week that the minority party should come to him to help craft a bipartisan infrastructure plan, adding that he believes he can get "as many Democrat votes as we have Republican" on the issue.

"The Democrats should come to a bipartisan bill. And we can fix it ... We can do a great infrastructure plan through bipartisanship," he reportedly said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said late last month that tackling infrastructure investment in 2018 would likely be more palatable than taking up spending and entitlement reform -- a nonstarter for Democrats, The Hill reported

"What the Democrats are willing to do is important because in the Senate, with rare exceptions like the tax bill, we've got to have Democratic involvement ... I hope we can go forward on infrastructure," he reportedly said. "I think there's a lot of interest in infrastructure. I think it's pretty popular with Democrats and Republicans."

For months, White House officials have been meeting and working with state and local leaders -- including executives with Springfield's Department of Public Works and Water and Sewer Commission -- on infrastructure-related issues. 
Trump, in June, said his administration planned "to move quickly" to improve the country's infrastructure and vowed to do so under budget.

The president said his administration had already taken steps to reduce the time it takes to get permits and approvals, adding that he'd like to streamline the process so it takes two years or less for major transportation and other projects.