A sweeping, $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package aimed at addressing the maintenance of roads, bridges and broadband coasted to passage in a 69-30 vote on Tuesday morning following days of debate.
The measure — negotiated by a group of 22 bipartisan lawmakers led by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) — includes $550 billion in new spending, with $110 billion set to be allocated toward roads, bridges and other projects; $65 billion toward broadband, $66 billion to be spent on passenger and freight rail, $55 billion for water infrastructure, $39.2 billion for public transit, $47.2 billion for resiliency purposes, $7.5 billion for electric vehicle infrastructure and $21 billion to address pollution.
Top lawmakers from both parties lauded the group of negotiators for their work on the bill, despite some members of the GOP leadership breaking with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) support of the measure, with Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) opting to vote against the bill.
“I was proud to support today’s historic bipartisan infrastructure deal and prove that both sides of the political aisle can still come together around common sense solutions. By promoting sensible, collaborative legislation, we have shown that the Senate still works as an institution. This is an important achievement for Kentucky and the American people,” McConnell said in a statement following the vote.
“Communities all across the Commonwealth will benefit from this bill, which will provide critical federal resources to assist the state in updating our highways, bridges, airports, broadband, and clean drinking water. Through today’s actions, we will be more competitive on the global stage and primed for broad-based economic growth.”
Its passage comes after months of negotiations, with lawmakers overcoming a series of hurdles as they looked to iron out details on a bill both parties could support.
While 19 Republicans backed the measure, a handful of conservatives rebuked the bill, raising concerns about spending levels and its impact on the deficit following a Congressional Budget Office analysis stating it is not fully paid for.
“This infrastructure package has been sold as completely paid-for. It’s not. According to the nonpartisan CBO, it will increase the deficit by at least $256 billion dollars,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) said in a statement.
“In addition, President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Schumer have repeatedly stated that enactment of this bill depends on enactment of Senator Bernie Sanders’ $3.5 trillion pathway to socialism, to which Democrats will now immediately turn. I didn’t make many friends this weekend in Congress, but I didn’t come here to make friends. I came to fight for Tennesseans and the American taxpayer.”
The measure received pushback from former President Donald Trump, who took aim at McConnell in multiple statements in the days ahead of the vote.
“Nobody will ever understand why Mitch McConnell allowed this non-infrastructure bill to be passed. He has given up all of his leverage for the big whopper of a bill that will follow,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
“I have quietly said for years that Mitch McConnell is the most overrated man in politics—now I don’t have to be quiet anymore. He is working so hard to give Biden a victory, now they’ll go for the big one, including the biggest tax increases in the history of our Country.”
Sinema and Portman dismissed allegations that the bipartisan measure would have a negative impact on the economy.
“This investment is being made without new tax hikes on everyday families. Independent studies have shown that the long-term spending for capital assets in this measure will improve economic efficiency and productivity, increase GDP, generate additional revenue, and will not increase inflation,” they said in a statement ahead of the vote.
“The new spending under the bill is offset through a combination of new revenue and savings, some of which is reflected in the formal CBO score and some of which is reflected in other savings and additional revenue identified in estimates, as CBO is limited in what it can include in its formal score.”
While the bipartisan bill easily passed the Senate, it still faces significant challenges before being sent to President Biden’s desk.
GOP lawmakers have sounded the alarm over Democrats’ plans to move forward with a sweeping, $3.5 trillion additional plan to address “human infrastructure,” which is expected to include provisions related to immigration reform, climate change and the expansion of social programs using the reconciliation process to allow them to sidestep the 51-vote threshold in the upper chamber. Plans to move forward with the reconciliation bill could deter a number of Republicans in the lower chamber from supporting the measure.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has repeatedly said the House would not take up the bipartisan bill without the passage of the budget that sets the guidelines for them to move on the $3.5 trillion bill.
“The leadership of President Biden has seized this once-in-a-century opportunity to Build Back Better for our country. This bipartisan package helps rebuild the middle class as it rebuilds our infrastructure – creating good-paying American jobs and turbocharging American competitiveness and growth,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The House will continue to work with the Senate to ensure that our priorities For The People are included in the final infrastructure and reconciliation packages, in a way that is resilient and will Build Back Better.”
A handful of progressives in the House have threatened to withhold their votes on the bipartisan bill unless they are assured that certain provisions, including a pathway to citizenship, are included in the larger package. And moderate Democrats have called on Pelosi, who holds a three-vote majority, to bring up the bipartisan measure as soon as it reaches the lower chamber, raising concerns about spending levels and calling for more specifics on the plan.
Leaders of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of centrist Democrats, voiced their calls for House Democratic leadership to hold a standalone vote on the bipartisan measure despite pressure from progressives on the larger package.
“Now that the Senate has done its job, we reiterate our call for House leadership to follow suit and bring the bipartisan infrastructure legislation to the House floor for a vote as a standalone bill as quickly as possible,” they said in a statement.
“The Co-Chairs of the Blue Dog Coalition remain opposed to any effort to unnecessarily delay consideration of these critical infrastructure investments, which will create good-paying jobs, keep American businesses competitive, and grow our nation’s economy.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reiterated his commitment to moving forward with Democrats’ two-track plan despite heavy GOP opposition. The New York Democrat attempted to ease progressives’ concerns that the bipartisan bill did not go far enough to address a number of their priorities, asserting his support for additional investments.
“To my colleagues who are concerned that this does not do enough on climate, for families, and making corporations and the rich pay their fair share: we are moving on to a second track, which will make a generational transformation in these areas,” he said on the floor.
“Once this bill is complete, the Senate will immediately turn to the second track in our two-track strategy: passing a budget resolution that will unlock historic investments in American jobs, American families, and the fight against climate change.”
Just after the passage of the bipartisan bill, Senate Democrats successfully overcame their first obstacle in the reconciliation process, voting to kick-start debate on the budget resolution.
