US Senate passes $550 billion infrastructure bill

A bipartisan Senate vote on Tuesday passed a $550 billion infrastructure bill by a 69-30 vote, marking the largest U.S. spending on utilities in decades and giving President Joe Biden a major victory on the economic agenda. If the infrastructure bill is eventually approved by both chambers, all states would be benefit. The bill includes about $110 billion for roads and bridges, $73 billion for grid upgrades, $66 billion for railroads and Amtrak, and $65 billion for internet expansion.

But the bipartisan spirit will soon evaporate, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has immediately turned his attention to a one-party budget resolution in an attempt to pass a $3.5 trillion economic plan involving broad social spending and tax hikes. Next, the infrastructure bill will face obstacles in the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives will adjourn until September 20. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been pressured by activists, has said that the House of Representatives will not be allowed to vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill until the Senate passes a $3.5 trillion economic plan budget. Moderates have urged the House to do so after pass the infrastructure bill.

Now Republicans can claim that the bill, which will pour a lot of money into their priorities without raising taxes, is their victory, and Biden can also claim it's a decades-long achievement that doesn't include an unpopular gas tax or other taxes that could hit the middle class.