On Sunday, Aug. 1, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators released the text of a sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure plan, which moved forward with a procedural vote in the Senate last week.
According to Reuters, the 2,702-page bill includes $550 billion in new spending over five years for roads and bridges, rail, electric vehicle charging stations, and more infrastructure related items.
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UPDATE 7/29/21:
Senate votes to move forward on bipartisan infrastructure bill
The U.S. Senate took a procedural vote to move forward on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package Wednesday night.
The vote to advance the legislation was 67-32, with 17 Republican senators joining their Democratic colleagues to vote in favor, according to CBS News.
The vote came on the heels of an announcement earlier Wednesday that a bipartisan group of senators had reached a deal on the "major issues" for the infrastructure package. The text of the bipartisan proposal had not been released when the Senate vote took place.
"This deal makes key investments to put people to work all across the country—in cities, small towns, rural communities, and across our coastlines and plains," President Biden said in a statement released by the White House about the bipartisan agreement. "It will put Americans to work in good-paying, union jobs repairing our roads and bridges."
President Biden also said the infrastructure deal "is the most important investment in public transit in American history and the most important investment in rail since the creation of Amtrak 50 years ago."
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Executive Director Jim Tymon applauded the agreement for an infrastructure bill. “We recognize this long-sought agreement is a crucial demonstration of the solid bipartisan support for infrastructure investment including roads, bridges, public transit, passenger rail, ports, airports, safety, and resilience—as well as broadband, water, and energy systems," Tymon said in a statement released by AASHTO. "We are particularly grateful for the addition of $550 billion in new funding on top of the much-needed five-year surface transportation reauthorization bills passed with strong bipartisan support by the Senate Environment and Public Works and Commerce Committees."
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ORIGINAL POST 7/28/21:
Bipartisan Senate group reaches deal on "major issues" for infrastructure bill
A bipartisan group of senators today announced they have reached a deal on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, according to multiple sources.
“We now have an agreement on the major issues,” Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told reporters. “We are prepared to move forward.”
Four other Republican senators joined Portman in announcing the deal, including Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Mitt Romney (Utah).
The senators told news outlets that they were still finalizing the details and had most of the bills text completed.
According to CNBC, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) hopes to hold a procedural vote to advance the infrastructure plan Wednesday night. The measure would need 60 Senate votes to advance. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona), representing the Democratic side of the bipartisan group, told reporters that she spoke with President Biden about the deal.
According to Yahoo! News, the deal is expected to cost $1.2 trillion over eight years, including $550 billion in new spending. This agreement follows days-long disputes over issues that included funding for public transit.
"Today’s announcement that a deal has been reached on a bipartisan infrastructure package is a huge step forward for the country, and America’s engineering industry is ready to get to work designing the infrastructure of the future," Linda Bauer Darr, President and CEO of the American Council of Engineering Companies, said in a statement. "We have a generational opportunity before us to accomplish something that will benefit the nation for years to come, not only in terms of economic growth but also in an improved quality of life for every American. We urge every member of the Senate to vote yes on cloture and move forward on infrastructure.”
Roads & Bridges Media will provide updates on this news as more information becomes available.
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Source: CNBC / Yahoo! News / CBS News / Reuters
