Sen. Sanders on GOP mindset: If it's good for America, we can't do it

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Tuesday night said Republicans in Congress refused to pass the transportation funding bill because it would make the President look good.

The Senate in March passed legislation reauthorizing transportation funding for two years with bipartisan support. The $109-billion bill is estimated to create 1.8 million jobs, but the Republican-led House has failed to act on the legislation.

"Everybody knows we have to invest in infrastructure," Sanders said on MSNBC. "We can create millions of decent paying jobs in the long-term, and I speak as a former mayor. You obviously save money because you don't have to do constant repairs."

"The simple reason is, I'm afraid, that you have a Republican mindset that says, 'Hmm, lets see, we can repair the infrastructure, save money long-term, create millions of jobs -- bad idea, Barack Obama will look good... If it is good for America, if it creates jobs, if it is good for Barack Obama, we can't do it.'"

Sanders claimed there was an "enormous amount" of work that needed to be done on the country's infrastructure and the House's refusal to act on the bill was "100 percent political."

Watch video, courtesy of MSNBC, below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy