WASHINGTON, DC — US senators on Sunday finalized a historic,
trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal that is expected to be approved within
days, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said.
اضافة اعلان
If passed by
Congress and signed into law, the bill would pump historic
levels of federal funding into fixing US roads, bridges, and waterways,
ensuring broadband internet for all Americans and expanding clean energy
programs.
A bipartisan group "finished writing the text of the infrastructure
bill," Schumer told the Senate, which met for an extended weekend session
in Washington.
"I believe the Senate can process relevant amendments and pass this
bill in a matter of days."
The bill, a cornerstone of President Joe Biden's sweeping domestic agenda,
is about 2,700 pages long and provides for $1 trillion in funding.
The Democratic leader succeeded in rallying a few elected officials from the
opposite camp to work on the proposal.
The group released a joint statement saying the goal of the bill was to
invest in infrastructure and create jobs without raising taxes.
"This bipartisan bill and our shared commitment to see it across the
finish line is further proof that the Senate can work," the statement
said.
The group consisted of Republicans Rob Portman, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney,
Lisa Murkowski, and Bill Cassidy, and Democrats
Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin,
Mark Warner, Jeanne Shaheen, and Jon Tester.
The bill would allow the largest-ever federal investments in public transit,
as well as drinking and waste water infrastructure; the largest funding of
passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak; and the largest investment in
bridges since the nation's highway system was developed.
It would also help tackle the climate crisis by investing in energy
projects, such as electric buses and a cleaner electricity grid.
Biden's other major economic and social challenge is to pass an ambitious
$3.5-trillion budget package that includes once-in-a-generation spending on health
care, education, social welfare, and climate action.
But Democrats are not counting on any
Republican support for that project.
Biden's big political project is for the United States to offer an
alternative to the Chinese authoritarian model. This requires being at the
forefront of innovation while also guaranteeing jobs and economic stability for
the American middle class.
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