Chuck Schumer
*Update: The Senate voted 69-30 to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The Senate is set to vote on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure framework (BIF) on Aug. 10 at 11 a.m., and if all goes according to plan the legislation is expected to pass.
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on the floor Monday night:
After all the long, hard negotiating, the stops and starts, we’re here and it’s a good thing, a very good thing for America.
The bill, with $550 billion dedicated to investing in America’s infrastructure, has garnered the support of both Democrats and Republicans. Nearly 70 senators from both sides of the aisle voted in favor of moving the legislation to a final vote, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who previously stated he was in no rush to pass the legislation. The bill’s lead negotiator for the Republicans, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) said, “It’s a long-term spending to repair and replace and build assets that will last for decades. In doing so, it does make life better for people.”
This passage will end a years long struggle to agree on a comprehensive plan to reform infrastructure within the nation with both parties agreeing that this deal will create new jobs and boost the economy.
This legislation, which is the largest federal investment in infrastructure in more than a decade, will still need to pass the House of Representatives. Although the House is currently on recess until Sept. 20, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA, 12) has made it clear she will not allow the infrastructure bill to be taken up on the house floor until the Senate also passes a budget resolution plan that will allow for what Democrats are looking at as a complementary $3.5 trillion spending plan that will allow for expansive social policy spending.
The night preceding the vote, Schumer said that following the passage of the infrastructure bill, the Senate will “immediately” vote on the budget measure, which he believes will start the process of the senate considering an extensive number of amendments to the resolution. Only after the passage of the budget measure will the Senate join its fellow chamber in recess.
