Senators voted overwhelmingly to end debate on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — meaning that the legislation will likely pass the chamber within the next few days.
Sixty-eight lawmakers — including all fifty Democrats and eighteen Republicans — voted to conclude debate, signaling continued support for the bill from both sides of the aisle. Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram noted that Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) recently added his support to the legislation.
CBS News reports:
Given the bipartisan agreement on the bill — and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joining 17 other Republicans to vote Saturday to advance the bill — Democrats had hoped to vote on final passage this weekend. But Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee refused to agree to speed up the voting, despite that passage is widely expected.
Politico adds:
Final passage of the legislation is expected late Monday night, or the wee hours of Tuesday at the latest, unless a deal is reached among all 100 senators to speed it up. A 50-hour budget debate and an unlimited “vote-a-rama” on nonbinding but politically symbolic topics will follow immediately after.
While Senate passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill is imminent, the legislation still faces an uncertain future in the House. Democratic moderates are already pressuring Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take the legislation up immediately, though Pelosi and many progressives want to wait until a Democratic-only social spending bill also passes the Senate. That bill cannot be filibustered by Senate Republicans in the evenly split chamber.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — originally negotiated by center-leaning Democrats and Republicans, including Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) — is meant as an alternative to President Biden’s $2.7 trillion American Jobs Plan.
Among other items, the Senate legislation — which is supported by the Biden administration — allocates $110 billion to roads and bridges, $73 billion to electric infrastructure, $66 billion to passenger and freight rail, $65 billion to high-speed internet, and $39 billion to public transit.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the legislation contains several provisions that are concerning to conservatives.
For instance, the bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code by introducing a “return requirement for certain transfers of digital assets not otherwise subject to reporting” — a provision that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) argues will “devastate crypto and blockchain innovation.”
Likewise, the bill would require all new automobiles to install breathalyzers or other alcohol monitors within the next three years.