Posted on 08/10/21
| News Source: FOX Business
The Senate on Tuesday passed a major $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill in a significant show of bipartisan force that marked a big step forward for President Biden's domestic agenda.
The final passage vote was a culmination of a months-long rocky effort between a group of bipartisan senators and the White House intent on showing the country that Republicans and Democrats can still work together to fix the nation's crumbling infrastructure.
Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, one of the lead negotiators, celebrated the vote as a historic investment in infrastructure that will serve the American people for decades to come.
"What we're doing here today also demonstrates to the American people that we can get our act together on a bipartisan basis and get something done," Portman said. "We can do big things on a bipartisan basis if we put our minds to it."
But the rare showing of bipartisanship was short-lived Tuesday, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., quickly pivoted to advancing a massive $3.5 trillion budget bill.
This partisan plan will be the vehicle for Democrats to pass liberal priorities such as universal pre-kindergarten, expanded Medicare access, two free years of community college, subsidized child care, legalizing undocumented immigrants and green climate initiatives.
"The two-track strategy is proceeding full steam ahead," Schumer said Tuesday.
This second spending plan is spearheaded by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chairman of the budget committee, and Republicans made clear Tuesday they'll make it politically painful for Democrats to pass this second bill, which will not require any GOP support to advance.