After many weeks of wrangling, the Senate finally agreed upon a version of the much-hyped bipartisan infrastructure spending bill. The final version passed 69 to 30. Now the legislation heads to the House, where some Democrats have promised to hold it hostage pending the passage of the much larger, more partisan “human infrastructure” bill in the upper chamber.
The more than $1.2 trillion package was supported by all 50 Democrats and Independents (effectively Democrats) and 19 Republicans. It was opposed only by 30 Republicans. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) wasn’t present, and therefore didn’t vote, but he made clear in the past that he opposed the bill. Presumably, he would have voted “no” as well, had he been around. The who voted “aye” from the GOP side were:
Roy Blunt R-MO
Richard Burr R-NC
Shelley Capito R-WV
Bill Cassidy R-LA
Susan Collins R-ME
Kevin Cramer R-ND
Mike Crapo R-ID
Deb Fischer R-NE
Lindsey Graham R-SC
Chuck Grassley R-IA
John Hoeven R-ND
Mitch McConnell R-KY
Lisa Murkowski R-AK
Rob Portman R-OH
James Risch R-ID
Mitt Romney R-UT
Dan Sullivan R-AK
Thom Tillis R-NC
Roger Wicker R-MS
Joe Biden
The deal includes provisions such as Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s per-mile driving penalty and a mandate for auto builders to include built-in drunk-driving prevention inspired by a bill Representative Kathleen Rice (D-NY) has been pushing for years, along with hundreds of billions in new debt and a cryptocurrency clampdown. Will conservative and libertarian voters in red states see these as statist betrayals, or write them off as the necessary cost of doing business in the Swamp? Time may tell soon enough. The 2022 midterms are right around the corner, and Senators Blunt, Burr, Crapo, Grassley, Hoeven, Murkowski, and Portman are all up for re-election. Former President Donald Trump hasn’t pulled any punches advocating against this bill, and support for such progressive measures could be used by America First candidates with Trump backing to label these incumbents “RINOs,” making for a Republican primary process worth watching.
The journey is far from over, however. While the spending package has cleared the Senate, both President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have promised to hold it hostage pending the passage – by reconciliation, if necessary – of the roughly $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” deal, of which a much smaller percentage actually deals with infrastructure than even the bipartisan bill. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have expressed disdain for any process that ignores input from the minority party and the massive partisan legislation itself. The moment of truth appears imminent: Will the last holdouts of the Democratic Party join their colleagues in reconciliation or even the final death of the filibuster, or will they stand firm behind their professed beliefs? Should they refuse to back down, will Biden and Pelosi make good on their promises and let the bipartisan bill die?
~
Read more from James Fite.
