Biden’s infrastructure plan overcame hurdles and breakthroughs in US Senate

The vast investment plan to modernize American infrastructure proposed by President Joe Biden on Sunday overcame new obstacles thanks to rare agreements between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, the approval of which could be voted on earlier this week.

While there is no longer any doubt that this 2,700-page text will be approved by the Senate, its future is more uncertain in the House of Representatives, where struggles have erupted between the left and the centrists within the narrow majority. democrat.

According to Biden, This “historic” project provides for $ 550 billion in federal spending on highways, bridges and transportation, but also in broadband internet and in the fight against climate change.

In total it’s $ 1.2 trillion -the equivalent of Spain’s gross domestic product in 2020- if the reorientation of other existing public funds is included.

As of Sunday evening, the bill far exceeded several procedural votes in the Senate, where more than a third of Republicans joined the narrow majority of Democrats.

The final vote could be scheduled for Monday or Tuesday.

Former Republican President Donald Trump threatened this weekend with electoral reprisals against the senators of his party who support the project.

But that did not prevent 18 of them, including their influential leader Mitch McConnell, from supporting the progress of the text on Sunday until the final vote.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that the plan will add $ 256 billion to the deficit between 2021 and 2031. This impact worries several Republicans who oppose the plan.

But his supporters said the CBO was unable to formally account for all the expected additional savings and income, and that they would cover the cost of such measures.

“We can make it happen the easy way or the hard way”Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said as he opened Saturday’s session.

Senators met for the second weekend in a row to work on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is the first of two Biden infrastructure packages. Once the vote is over, Senators will address the next item on Biden’s agenda, a budget proposal for a $ 3.5 billion plan for child and senior care, and other programs that are a more partisan project and who, predictably, only get support from Democrats.

Schumer promised he would keep senators in session until they complete the bipartisan bill and begin the first votes on the next big plan.

The vice president Kamala Harris came to Capitol Hill to attend meetings on the bipartisan initiative, which Biden said would potentially offer a “historic investment” at the height of the construction of the transcontinental railroad or interstate highway system. .

Going beyond the 60-vote threshold was a sign that the tenuous alliance between Republicans and Democrats could be sustained for the public works package. At least 10 Republicans had to join all Democrats for the measure to adopt a delaying tactic – and in the end, 18 Republican senators voted to move the package forward.

So far, the Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell allowed the law to move forward and his vote in favor was closely watched. “It’s a deal,” he said before the vote.

Some Republican senators are trying to delay the rolling voting schedule in hopes of slowing or stopping what appears to be a move by Democrats to meet the president’s infrastructure goals.

El senador Bill Hagerty, republicano of Tennessee y un aliado del ex presidente Donald Trump —que fue embajador del ex mandatario en Japón_, contó entre quienes encabezaron el intento para que el Senado tarde todo el tiempo necesario para el debate y hacer las enmiendas al law Project.

(With information from AFP and AP)

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