Bipartisan $550B Infrastructure Bill Inches Forward in Senate
By Rebecca Baird-Remba July 29, 2021 11:03 am
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Senators hammered out the details of the $550 billion infrastructure bill and voted to advance it to the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday night.
Although the full text of the bill — dubbed the “American Jobs Plan” — has not been released yet, the package calls for $110 billion for roads, bridges and infrastructure projects; $40 billion for bridge repairs and replacements; $39 billion for public transit; $66 billion for passenger and freight rails; and $65 billion for high-speed broadband, according to CNBC.
The proposal also includes $17 billion for port infrastructure, $25 billion for airports and $55 billion for clean drinking water and lead pipe replacement.
The Senate voted 67-32 to move the bill forward on Wednesday, with 50 Democrats and 17 Republicans voting in favor of the proposal. The plan falls far short of the $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan that President Joe Biden unveiled in March.
The president’s proposal included $115 billion for road modernization, $85 billion for public transit improvements, and $80 billion for Amtrak to use for repairs and expansions along the Northeast Corridor between New York and Washington, D.C. It also called for $400 billion to provide home health care for the elderly, $300 billion for manufacturing and $213 billion for housing.
Democrats are also hoping to push through a $3.5 trillion spending bill that would expand Medicare to cover vision, dental and hearing costs; extend the child care tax credit; provide funding for universal pre-kindergarten and college tuition; and fund climate change proposals aimed at transitioning from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources. Sen. Mitch McConnell has pledged that Republicans will not support the legislation, which means that every Democrat in the Senate would have to vote for the proposal in order for it to pass.
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com.
