On Thursday, Joe Biden, the President of the United States, said that he agreed to deal on infrastructure with a bipartisan senators’ group after senators and White House officials had an enormous breakthrough one night before in their infrastructure talks. Moreover, the president supported an infrastructure proposal increasing momentum for the agreement even as Democratic congressional leaders also press ahead with a more significant bill addressing the more striving aspects of Biden’s agenda.
We’ve struck a deal. A group of senators – five Democrats and five Republicans – has come together and forged an infrastructure agreement that will create millions of American jobs.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 24, 2021
President Biden told reporters that they have a deal. Before the press briefing, he had a meeting with eleven senators who negotiated the package. Biden spent almost forty years in the Senate before becoming vice president of Barack Obama. He positioned himself as a dealmaker to work with both sides of the aisle. Yesterday afternoon, the president signed off on the deal.
However, hurdles remain – it is not clear if the proposal will have enough support from Republican senators or progressive representatives to end up as law – the announced deal is a noteworthy development that can pave the way for passage of the president’s domestic agenda. Biden said that bipartisan agreements mean compromise.
Later, the Democratic president said that he wouldn’t sign the bilateral infrastructure bill unless the investments he projected in his American Families Plan also end up on his desk. Biden says that if this is the only thing that comes towards his desk, he will not sign it. It is in tandem.
Republican leaders are grappling with Whether to Support the Bipartisan Deal
On Thursday, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, said that the House wouldn’t take up the bilateral bill until its approval from the Senate with the more significant support, more comprehensive infrastructure package through budget settlement. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, expressed his deep distrust during his talk on Fox News over the push of the Democratic Party to approve both the reconciliation bill and the bipartisan agreement.
Source: Web
According to Politico, the plan would include over $550 billion in spending for bridges, roads, and other infrastructure projects. In addition, the bill must approve the Senate and afterward the House before the president can sign the legislation. Biden supports Pelosi’s position that the infrastructure plan must approve along with a reconciliation bill. Republican leaders are grappling with the decision of whether to support the bipartisan bill, knowing that Democratic leaders can push through a reconciliation deal either way or to oppose the bilateral measure and let the Democratic party own everything.
NEW: Final numbers of the bipartisan infrastructure deal reached by the WH & senators, obtained by @NBCNews.
-$579b in new spending
-$312b for transportation
-$266b for other infraPayfors include stricter tax enforcement & unused COVID relief money. Gas tax & EV tax are out. pic.twitter.com/wkQXimI9LP
— Julie Tsirkin (@JulieNBCNews) June 24, 2021
Some Key Parts of the Deal
- Roads and Bridges
- Water and Power Systems
- Electric Vehicles
- Public Transit
- Broadband Investment
Roads and Bridges
The infrastructure plan includes about $109 billion for bridges, roads, and other infrastructure projects. It is fifty billion dollars less than Biden requested originally.
Water and Power Systems
The plan also includes a $55 billion investment for water infrastructure and around $73 billion in the power structure of the country. Some of the money will use to eliminate the lead service lines and pipes of the United States.
Electric Vehicles
Moreover, the Biden plan includes $7.5 billion to develop a network of electric vehicle chargers along highways, disadvantaged communities, and highways. The government aims to build five lac electric vehicle chargers. Likewise, the plan assigned an additional $7.5 billion for making thousands of transits and school buses electric.
Public Transit
The president’s plan also allocated $66 billion for rail, $49 billion for public transit, $25 billion for airports, and $16 billion for waterways and ports.
Broadband Investment
Finally, the announced plan would include $65 billion for improving the broadband system of the U.S. At first, Joe Biden wanted $100 billion to ensure Americans have high-speed and reliable internet. But he lowered his ask during negotiations with a group of bipartisan senators.
