With broad support from Democrats and Republicans, the $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure investment plan billed as “Historical” by US President Joe Biden overcame a key milestone in the US Senate on Saturday, August 7. Its adoption now seems guaranteed before being sent to the House of Representatives.
The fruit of months of negotiations, this grand plan provides for $ 550 billion in new federal spending on roads, bridges, transport, as well as high-speed Internet and to fight climate change. It totals 1,200 billion dollars (1,020 billion euros) – the equivalent of Spain’s 2020 Gross Domestic Product – if we take into account the reorientation of other existing public funding.
With the agreement of 18 Republicans, including their powerful leader Mitch McConnell, and 49 Democrats, the Senate decided to end debate on the bill. This procedural vote required 60 votes. It marks a decisive step since it underlines the very strong chances that the text has to be adopted then, by a simple majority (51 votes), in the Senate.
But the text still has to go through a procedural step and there could be new votes on the amendments. The final vote could therefore take place at the beginning of the week or occur as early as this weekend, the very flexible rules of the Senate making it possible to speed up the procedures… on condition of obtaining unanimity. The senators were also fiercely negotiating on Saturday in the hemicycle on these next steps. And a certain pessimism reigned over the possibility of seeing a vote arrive quickly.
Tractations
This agreement “Represents a historic investment” tweeted Joe Biden Saturday. “We cannot afford not to implement it. “
If the Senate approves the plan, it will then have to go to the House of Representatives for a vote. No date has yet been set and its adoption is not yet guaranteed. Democrats control the majority but by a very narrow margin, and tensions exist between the centrists and the left wing.
The adoption of this project would offer a resounding victory to the Democratic President, who is betting on the economic recovery and the fight against the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic to present a good record to the Americans.
Former senator for 36 years, broken in the marathon negotiations of Congress, Joe Biden follows these negotiations very closely and should not hesitate to pick up his phone this weekend to weigh in the discussions, according to the White House.
Its vice-president, Kamala Harris, also a former senator, even went on Saturday in person to Capitol Hill to meet with the senators … and put a new pressure on it.
Former Republican President Donald Trump ruled on Saturday that this agreement was ” a shame “. “It will be very difficult for me to support someone stupid enough to vote in favor of this agreement”, he threatened in a press release, while he remains very popular with Republican voters and the parliamentary elections of 2022 (the “Midterms”) are approaching.
But Republicans supporting the project also know that these investments are very popular with voters and influential Senator Mitch McConnell on Saturday defended an imperfect text but the result of a “Compromise”.