Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) reportedly said this week that infrastructure will not be part of the next coronavirus relief package to make its way through Congress.
According to a report from The Hill, McConnell told Fox News that passing an infrastructure bill was "unrelated" to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, though he says he is still interested in passing a bill to address infrastructure down the line.
Congress is expected to roll out another coronavirus relief package as soon as next month. The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress in March, which included $114 billion dedicated to the transportation sector.
"Infrastructure is unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic that we're all experiencing and trying to figure out how to go forward," McConnell told Fox News. "We need to make sure that whatever additional legislation we do is directly related to this pandemic."
This statement by the majority leader comes nearly a month after both Speaker Pelosi and President Trump made calls for a large infrastructure spending bill as part of the next phase of a coronavirus stimulus package. The president indicated in a tweet that he was looking for $2 trillion for infrastructure spending just a day after the speaker said the next phase of a stimulus package should include a bipartisan deal on infrastructure.
Leader McConnell said he expects the Senate to pass a "more modest" infrastructure bill in the near future. This package is anticipated to build off a highway bill that passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last year.
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SOURCE: The Hill / Fox News
