US : The Senate on Tuesday passed a sweeping $550 billion infrastructure bill that would make a huge investment in the nation’s roads, public transit, water and broadband.
The bill passed 69 to 30, with 19 Republicans joining all Democrats.
The passage marks a victory for President Joe Biden, who made rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure the centerpiece of his campaign and who told the American people he could help usher in a new era of bipartisan cooperation.
The bill passed the Senate after it was able to clear several procedural hurdles. The bill will go next to the House, where it faces some Democratic skepticism. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said the bill will not get a vote until the Senate passes a separate multitrillion-dollar package of safety net measures.
“Today, the Senate takes a decade’s overdue step to revitalize America’s infrastructure and give our workers, our businesses, our economy, the tools to succeed in the 21st century, the bill,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said ahead of the vote on the Senate floor.
“When the Senate is run with an open hand rather than a closed fist, senators can accomplish big things,” Schumer continued. “So despite this long road we’ve taken, we have finally, finally reached the finish line.”
CNBC
