On a 221-201 vote prior to the 4th of July break, the House passed a $715 billion package to address surface transportation and water infrastructure projects. Led by House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the package is meant to shape aspects of the ongoing infrastructure discussions with the Senate and White House.
Chairman DeFazio urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to incorporate aspects of the legislation, known as the INVEST in America Act, into the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure framework. “This bill is designed to be a part of the President’s jobs bill. It is not a substitute for the jobs bill,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said this week.
The INVEST in America Act authorizes $343 billion for roads, bridges and safety measures, $109 billion for transit, $95 billion for passenger and freight rail, $117 billion for drinking water infrastructure resources, and roughly $51 billion for wastewater infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Punchbowl News reports Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is expected to circulate next week a framework for the budget resolution instructions for Fiscal Year 2022. As previously reported, this resolution will serve as the basis for Democrats’ budget reconciliation package. The resolution may also include language to address the debt limit, which currently expires at the end of July.
