US Senate Passes $550 Billion Infrastructure Bill for Biggest Spending Burst in Decades
The US Senate has passed a $550 billion infrastructure bill that is expected to unleash one of the biggest bursts of spending in decades. The legislation, which was negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators, includes big spending on Republican priorities without raising taxes. President Biden can lay claim to an accomplishment decades in the making without including unpopular gas taxes or other levies that would have hit the middle class.
However, the bill’s passage is not without controversy. Republicans who opposed the plan as too expensive cited a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) prediction of additional debt and warned the bill could spur additional inflation. Some senators who drew up the legislation contend that the bill will be paid for by a variety of means that the CBO couldn’t account for.
With the bipartisan deal out of the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to turn immediately to the task of teeing up consideration of Biden’s $3.5 trillion economic package, a partisan drive to overhaul policies on climate change, taxes, health care, immigration and other areas. This package is expected to include tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations to pay for spending on a broad social agenda, including child care, middle class tax cuts, paid family leave and subsidies for higher education.
The passage of the infrastructure bill sets up a high-stakes battle in Congress over the budget package, which will require every Democratic vote in the 50-50 Senate. Moderate Democrats like Joe Manchin and Sinema have expressed concerns about the price tag and some of the proposed tax hikes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned that the chamber won’t act on the infrastructure legislation until Senate Democrats finish the budget package.
Overall, the passage of the infrastructure bill marks a significant step forward for President Biden’s agenda, but it also sets up a challenging road ahead as lawmakers work to pass the larger budget package and address the country’s economic and social priorities.
