Senate Passes Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Preps For Partisan Bill

The Senate has finally passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill negotiated months ago and was at once on the brink of failure on Tuesday. The package includes $1.2 trillion of new spending on physical infrastructure, $550 billion of which is new spending. In a related move, Senate Democrats on early Wednesday morning passed a budget resolution allowing them to proceed on a $3.5 trillion partisan economic, infrastructure, and investment package.

After months of negotiations by a bipartisan group of 10 senators, the Senate finally came together on Tuesday to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by a margin of 69-30, with 19 Republicans voting with all 50 Democrats to pass the bill.

The bill, which will spend a total of $1.2 trillion on improving America’s infrastructure, will include $550 billion of new federal spending over five years. The 2,700-page bill is chock-full of provisions that will go beyond what is traditionally considered infrastructure.

This infrastructure deal contains $110 billion for roads, bridges, and infrastructure projects, $40 billion for bridge improvement, $11 billion for transportation safety, $39 trillion for transit agencies, and $66 billion for Amtrak, with $12 billion for high-speed and intercity rail. It is the largest federal investment in public transit ever and in Amtrak since it was created in 1971. The money will be enough to clear Amtrak’s maintenance backlogs, modernize the Northeast Corridor, and bring intercity rail service to many new cities.

There will be $65 billion allotted in improving rural broadband and lowering the prices for high-speed internet access, while $15 billion will go toward deploying electric schoolbuses and developing a nationwide electric vehicle charging network. $17 billion will go to improving ports and $25 billion to airports. Another $65 billion will go toward improving power systems, $55 billion to improve water infrastructure (such as replacing lead pipes), and $50 billion to making power and water systems more resilient against attacks and extreme weather. There is also $1 billion to connecting underserved communities. Finally, $21 billion is allotted to cleaning up old brownfield, abandoned mines, and Superfund sites.

The bill will be partially paid for in myriad ways, including repurposing COVID-19 relief fees, changing tax requirements for cryptocurrency, and delaying a Trump-era rule that effectively makes Medicare and Medicaid more expensive for the federal government to maintain. Even so, the bill will add about $256 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The passage of the bill is significant as it represents a major achievement for both parties and President Joe Biden’s agenda. Though infrastructure has been a key priority for both parties for many years, rarely has there ever been enough bipartisan consensus to push a bill through the Senate. This bill, which was the result of months of grueling negotiations among senators, was able to pass the Senate by a wide margin despite former President Donald Trump trying to convince Republican senators to tank it.

The 19 crossover Republican senators who joined Democrats in passing the bill came from all sorts of states. They included Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Susan Collins of Maine, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Jim Risch of Idaho, Mitt Romney of Utah, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

Though the legislation has now passed the Senate, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly suggested that the bill won’t be taken up until the Senate passes a larger, $3.5 trillion economic package without GOP support under budget reconciliation rules. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, which has 96 members in the House, signaled in a letter to Pelosi that a majority of its members would vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless the separate package was also passed. The House is scheduled to return from summer break on the week starting August 23.

Senate Democrats have not slept on the House’s threat to tank the bipartisan bill. Early Wednesday morning, at about 4 a.m. Eastern Time, the Senate passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution along party lines, 50-49, allowing them to begin debate on using the budget reconciliation process to pass the Democrats’ agenda without Republican support once the House passes the resolution. Bills passed by budget reconciliation cannot be filibustered in the Senate.

The massive $3.5 trillion package is full of Democratic priorities relating to health care, education, the climate, infrastructure, and child care, and a major cornerstone of Biden’s agenda. If passed, it would be a significant advancement in the president’s agenda.

This reconciliation package contains $200 billion for universal preschool nationwide, ensures families do not spend more than 7 percent of their income on child care for children younger than 5, makes community college free for two years, increases Pell Grant awards, invests in historically Black colleges and universities, extends the child tax credit, and creates the first-ever federal paid and medical leave benefit.

Medicare will also cover dental, vision, and hearing, and the eligibility age will be lowered to 60. This is a key goal of Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats. The bill also extends Affordable Care Act subsidies, invests in elderly care services, lowers the price of prescription drugs, promotes health equity, and creates a new federal health program for states which have not expanded Medicaid.

Billions will also be invested in reducing carbon emissions and producing 80 percent of U.S. power from green sources by 2030 and to electrify all federal vehicles. The bill also calls for fees on polluters while giving rebates and tax credits for clean energy and home electrification or weatherization.

Finally, hundreds of billions are expected to be invested into manufacturing, housing, job training, and research and development programs. The bill also includes a provision for providing green cards to migrant workers and their families.

With Republicans denouncing this bill as a reckless liberal spending spree, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will have to work a very fine line to ensure that this massive bill gets unanimous support from every member within his caucus to allow it to pass. He must make sure that moderates, such as Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema of West Virginia and Arizona respectively, are happy with the price tag, while ensuring progressives such as Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are satisfied with what’s included.

If both bills manage to make it through Congress, the Democrats may be setting up a great path for them in 2022. The Democrats can use the policies they enacted in these bills and sell them to voters by touting their benefits. It will also help boost favorability of Biden, which will be key in determining whether they manage to hold on to their majority in Congress.