WASHINGTON –
The House of Representatives passed a historic $ 1 trillion infrastructure package Friday night and voted to allow a formal debate on their larger social spending and the climate bill, a sign of progress on President Biden’s agenda after months of centrist-progressive divide.
A planned final vote on the larger social spending bill was thwarted because a group of moderates – enough to block the measure – refused to support it until they had an official estimate of the economic cost.
The successful vote on the Infrastructure Bill, passed 228-26, marks a much-needed momentum for Biden’s agenda, which has suffered setbacks due to the deep distrust between centrists and progressives on Capitol Hill.
The vote came on Friday after a busy week for the Democrats, in which their gubernatorial candidate lost in Virginia and frustration over slowing negotiations on Capitol Hill boiled over.
There was a growing feeling among ordinary members that they needed to move the bills forward after two previous attempts to plan the polls had failed.
For weeks progressives blocked a vote on the Infrastructure Act as leverage to ensure the Senate took vigorous action on the Social Expenditure Act. On Friday, the progressives agreed to pass the Infrastructure Act alone, aware of the risk of enduring too much.
“What should I do, you know – drag this out further?” Said Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.). “For me, the risk of doing nothing is lower than the sequence” of the votes.
The $ 1 trillion infrastructure bill, approved by the Senate in August, will go to Biden’s desk for signature. A White House spokesman said Friday Biden would sign it.
Infrastructure efforts began in late March when Biden announced plans to push for a large package, something that several of his predecessors had missed.
For months, Biden and the Senate Republicans negotiated a road-and-bridge plan that would allow the president to relax the bona fide bipartisan regime he campaigned for.
Thirteen Republicans joined the Democrats on Friday in support of the Infrastructure Bill. Six Democrats in the House of Representatives voted against.
While the Infrastructure Bill is only part of Biden’s agenda, it marks a huge new injection of cash. Infrastructure spending as a percentage of gross domestic product will be around 1.5% over the next five years, compared to 1.36% in the New Deal years, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution’s Office of Management and Budget.
The bill addresses a variety of infrastructure deficiencies and will expand broadband internet availability across the country.
About $ 110 billion will be used on roads, bridges, and other large land transportation projects. Rail passenger transport will receive $ 66 billion, local public transport will receive $ 39 billion, and highway and pedestrian safety programs will receive $ 11 billion. About $ 55 billion will be used to expand access to clean drinking water.
While Democrats welcomed the successful vote on infrastructure, the achievement is largely overshadowed by the long and chaotic process of drawing up the social spending measure.
The Democrats in Congress and Biden said Friday that they would get the bill through the House of Representatives in the week of November 15th. However, disagreements on key issues such as paid vacation and immigration need to be resolved when the bill gets to the Senate.
While most major pieces of legislation suffer seizures during legislative sausage-making, the frantic negotiations over these bills have been particularly tense, reflecting the Democrats’ narrow three-vote margin in the House of Representatives.
The delay in the House of Representatives vote on social spending means it may not get into the Senate until well into December.
Fearing end-of-year negotiations, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who wield significant political influence, urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday to hold the two votes as a sign of progress. According to democratic sources, the moderates would only agree to this if the vote on infrastructure came first.
Although progressives passed the infrastructure bill before the social spending bill was passed, they remain concerned that moderate Democrats will not support the current $ 1.85 trillion package.
With Biden’s telephone assistance, the centrist and progressive camps negotiated an agreement whereby the centrists agreed in writing to support the social spending law in a vote during the week of November 15, as long as the official cost estimate is in line with expectations.
While demanding that costs match White House estimates leaves some margin not to vote for the bill, the five centrists, including Reps Josh Gottheimer (DN.J.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla .) that they would work to resolve any differences.
The statement is intended to reassure progressives that the law on social spending is coming through the house.
Biden called for an hour-long meeting of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Friday asking for its assistance, “subject to some assurances and commitments.” [from moderates] who he worked for, ”said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) before the deal was made. “He’s working very hard to get everyone there.”
Biden has repeatedly promised progressives to cast the vote in the Senate.
There are many reasons for progressives to be nervous. Centrist Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have already forced the removal of progressive priorities from the bill and have made no public commitments to support the latest version.
The Times writer, Nolan D. McCaskill, contributed to this report.
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