United States Senators have introduced the details of the $1tn infrastructure bill, which seeks to invest in roads, bridges, ports, high-speed internet, and other infrastructure.
Gatekeepers News reports that the infrastructure package is a top legislative priority for Democratic President Joe Biden, who described it on Sunday as the largest of such investment in a century.
According to the Senators, the 2,702-page bill comprised $550 billion in new spending over five years for items such as roads, rail, electric vehicle charging stations, and substituting lead water pipes on top of $450 billion in earlier approved funds.
“I believe we can quickly process relevant amendments and pass this bill in days,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said concerning the bill after it was announced by a bipartisan group of Senators.
“This is a really important bill because it takes our big, aging, and outdated infrastructure in this country and modernizes it. That’s good for everybody,” said Senator Rob Portman, the lead Republican negotiator.
The bill was, however, criticized by some Republicans who believe it is too costly.
“I’ve got real concerns with this bill,” Republican Senator Mike Lee said in a floor speech. “All is not well with the way we spend money.”
If the bill passes the Senate, it must be considered in the House of Representatives, where some Democrats have blasted it as too small and the Democratic leadership has paired it with a $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” bill to pour money into education, child care, climate change, and other priorities.
Gatekeepers News gathered that Democrats want to offset that social spending with tax hikes on corporations and wealthy Americans earning more than $400,000 a year, measures opposed by Republicans, leaving the fate of both bills up in the air.
The development on Sunday rounded off months of negotiating, and infighting, among several groups of senators and the White House.
