Infrastructure bill clears Senate Procedural hurdle

Lawmakers on Saturday still had to negotiate votes on a set of amendments before a final vote on the bill is held

Mitch McConnell voted in favour of the procedural vote and called for the Senate to consider additional amendments. Picture: AFP

The $US1 trillion ($1.36 trillion) bipartisan infrastructure Bill has cleared another procedural hurdle in the US Senate, with 18 Republicans joining Democrats to bring the agreement one step closer to final passage in a rare weekend session.

Senators on Saturday (Sunday AEST) were still sorting through the next steps for the Bill, seeking to reach an agreement on holding votes on a final set of amendments. Republicans and Democrats fell short of that agreement, and the chamber will meet on Sunday to continue with procedural votes, meaning the Bill could ultimately proceed without any further amendment votes.

But the procedural vote once again demonstrated the agreement’s strong bipartisan support, putting the deal on track to easily pass the Senate. The Bill will face a more complicated path in the House of Representatives, where Democrat speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wouldn’t bring it up until the Senate also passes a $US3.5 trillion anti-poverty and climate Bill.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is also pushing for Democrats to approve the budget outline for the $3.5 trillion package in the coming days.

“We can get this done the easy way or the hard way. In either case, the Senate will stay in session until we finish our work. It’s up to my Republican colleagues how long it takes,” Senator Schumer said.

Republican support for the infrastructure Bill remained robust even after congress’s nonpartisan scorekeeping found that it would add $US256bn to the deficit over 10 years. The estimate contradicted Bill negotiators’ claims that its cost was fully covered with savings and new revenue. But that finding from the Congressional Budget Office did inflame existing opposition from some Republicans to the Bill, complicating efforts to quickly wrap up the amendment process.

A spokesman for Republican senator Bill Hagerty said last week that he “cannot in good conscience agree to expedite a process immediately after the CBO confirmed that the Bill would add over a quarter of a trillion dollars to the deficit”.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell voted in favour of the procedural vote and called for the Senate to consider additional amendments. “The American people need roads, bridges, ports, and airports to build their businesses, build their families, and build their lives,” he said. “Republicans and Democrats have radically different visions these days, but both those visions include physical infrastructure that works for our citizens.”

The Bill provides $US550bn in new funding on top of money authorised for existing federal infrastructure programs. Of that $US550bn, $US65bn is dedicated to expanding access to broadband, $US110bn will go toward rebuilding bridges and roads, and $US55bn is aimed at water infrastructure.

Repurposing Covid-19 aid and delaying a Trump-era Medicare rebate rule are among the sources of funds for covering the cost of the plan.

Among the amendments senators are grappling with are those related to a measure that seeks to raise money through tougher tax enforcement of cryptocurrency transactions.

Duelling groups of senators have proposed amendments seeking to clarify how the Bill defines a broker, which the legislation would require to report gains reaped to the Internal Revenue Service.

Democrat senator Mark Warner said he had made changes to the cryptocurrency amendment that he has proposed with Republican senator Rob Portman and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. Democrat Ron Wyden, one of the authors of the other amendment, said talks were continuing on the issue.

The Wall Street Journal