Senate Oks $1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Package


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WASHINGTON, D.C. – After months of intense debate, the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package has passed the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

The final vote was 69-30.





“The bill will make large and significant differences in both productivity and job creation in America for decades to come,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said during his floor speech before the vote.

Among the topline numbers inside the 2,700 page bill:

– $110B: Roads & Bridges





















– $73B: Electric & Power Grid

– $66B: Trains & Rail

– $65B: High-speed Internet

– $55B: Water









– $39B: Public Transit

– $25B: Airports

– $21B: Environmental remediation

The deal, known as the INVEST in America Act, includes roughly $550 billion in new spending both Democrats and a number of Republicans say is needed to improve America’s aging infrastructure, which received a “C-“ grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers earlier this year.

But some Republicans voted against it, arguing the trillion-dollar deal is too expensive. They also cite the report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week that the deal will add at least $250 billion to the federal deficit.

“I have serious reservations,” said Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs Committee, ahead of the vote. “It’s a massive amount of spending in some categories. It’s a massive amount on top of massive amounts that were spent over the last year.”

The infrastructure bill now faces an uphill battle in the deadlocked U.S. House. The question there: Will enough moderate Democrats get on board, and will the progressive wing say it doesn’t go far enough?

“I don’t think it should be attached to anything else including reconciliation or debt ceiling votes,” said Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “That vote should proceed as soon as the Senate finishes its work.”

After the vote, the Senate began work on the next major spending plan: the $3.5 trillion so-called “human infrastructure” package, focusing on education, child care, Medicare expansion, climate change, and more.

The U.S. House is expected to consider both the infrastructure and reconciliation packages when they return from their summer recess next month.

 

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