The $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act cleared the Senate on Tuesday after months of negotiations. It heads to the House next for another round of debates and votes before President Joe Biden can sign it.
Senators first reached agreement on the framework of a deal in June, and the process endured many ups and downs in the intervening weeks. The Senate barely met Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s stated goal to pass the package before the August recess.
What was the vote breakdown? Nineteen Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joined all 50 Democrats to pass the bipartisan deal on Tuesday with a 69-30 vote.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., missed the vote to be with his wife as she undergoes cancer treatments, South Dakota Public Radio reported.
The bill adds $550 billion in new funding over the next five years. The overall act is significantly smaller than Biden’s original proposal of $2.3 trillion.
The Senate turns its attention next to a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. Debates over that measure are expected to last into the fall.
This story originally appeared in WORLD. © 2021, reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.