Will the Senate finally pass a $1T infrastructure bill? House says $3.5T spending proposal must come first

The Senate could pass a bipartisan infrastructure measure as early as the end of this week.

Sound Transit

The momentum is back on. On Aug. 1, the Senate unveiled legislative text of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure, and a final vote could be tallied as early as the end of this week.

The bill is over 2,000 pages long, and there is expected to be over $500 billion in new spending for infrastructure in the U.S. Amendments will be ironed out over the next couple of days, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said so much work has been put into the deal already the process of moving it through the chamber should be quick.

Many lawmakers were still wondering how the measure would be paid for a week ago, but now it appears the funding will come from unspent COVID-19 relief funds, targeted corporate user fees, and strengthened tax enforcement regarding crypto currencies.

Still, not every politician is on board. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday that she does not agree with some of the methods to fund the bill, and cautioned that lawmakers need to look over the legislative language. Ocasio-Cortez also said the Senate’s passage of President Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending proposal is needed if the House is going to approve an infrastructure bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been making a similar threat.

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