Could an infrastructure bill be signed into law before the August recess?

Building up a full workforce is one of the issues facing the Purple Line project.

Twitter photo from @PurpleLineMD.

The Senate could be voting on its version of a historical infrastructure bill as early as this week, which means there is a chance it could become law by the August recess.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he intended to hold a vote on an infrastructure package in the coming days.

A group of Senate Democrats and Republicans continue to work out details of the deal, but Schumer said the bill could be debated before it is finalized, and the sticking point appears to be how to pay for it. Senators on both sides of the aisle have said the infrastructure package needs to have a funding formula in place that will not add to the national debt. Without the means to pay for about $1 trillion in spending, some may reject the plan.

Right now the main source of funding in the Senate bill would come from unpaid taxes and the IRS’s ability to collect. There is $1 trillion in unpaid taxes to grab, but the track record of the IRS does not give many lawmakers confidence. The group putting the Senate bill together wants to put strong safeguards in place to prevent abuse. However, sources close to the meeting said on July 15 it is unlikely any safeguards will be put in the final bill.

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