A huge infrastructure bill deemed historic by US President Joe Biden on Saturday passed a key procedural hurdle, with enough Republican senators joining Democrats to make its final passage in the upper chamber appear nearly certain.
The US$1.2 trillion bill, designed to fund much-needed upgrades to US roads, highways, bridges and high-speed Internet, drew the support of 18 Republican senators and 49 Democrats, a rare instance of bipartisanship in deeply divided Washington.
That Republican support — with US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell among the 18 in favor — would end floor debate on the bill, a procedural step that required 60 votes.
With only 51 votes required for final Senate passage, the vote Saturday greatly improves the bill’s chances, although fierce wrangling over amendments is continuing.
The bill must pass another procedural step before going to a final vote, the timing of which remained uncertain on Saturday evening, when voting ended to be picked up again yesterday.
The legislation, months in the making, calls for US$550 billion in new federal spending on the nation’s aging infrastructure, including spending to slow the effects of climate change.
The total US$1.2 trillion price tag — equal to Spain’s GP last year — includes some funds previously approved, but not yet spent.
Biden, a 36-year veteran of Senate maneuvering, has followed the bill’s progress closely, and White House officials said that he would not hesitate to telephone wavering senators if needed.
Making a last-minute plea for its passage, Biden on Saturday wrote on Twitter that the bill represented a “historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure.”
“We can’t afford not to do it,” he added.
Biden also dispatched US Vice President Kamala Harris, another former US senator, to Capitol Hill on Saturday to shore up support for the legislation.
If the Senate approves the plan, it would move to the US House of Representatives, where passage is not guaranteed. Democrats hold a narrow majority there, and the party’s centrist and liberal wings have butted heads over the content of the bill.
Final passage by both houses would represent a major victory for the Democratic president, who has been betting his political legacy on economic recovery and the fight against the ravages of COVID-19.
Former US president Donald Trump issued a statement calling the bill “a disgrace.”
Trump, who was unable to bring an infrastructure bill to passage during his four-year term, added that it would be “very hard” for him to “endorse anyone foolish enough to vote in favor of this deal.”
His position could make a final vote more problematic for Republicans in next year’s midterm elections, but they also know that the spending in the bill is very popular among voters, according to polls.
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