U.S. House passes $1.2T bipartisan infrastructure bill, sends it to Biden
WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. House has approved a $1.2 trillion package of road and other infrastructure projects after Democrats resolved a months-long standoff between progressives and moderates.
The vote late Friday notches a victory that President Joe Biden and his party had become increasingly anxious to claim. Biden's approval ratings have dropped and the party got a cold shoulder from voters in this week’s off-year elections.
The legislation would create legions of jobs and improve broadband, water supplies and other public works.
The 228-206 House vote now whisks the measure to the president's desk to be signed into law. It followed hours of delays and internal debating among Democrats on Friday, including calls from Biden to persuade skeptical progressive members of the Democratic caucus.
The legislation passed the U.S. Senate in August, but was stalled in the House as Democrats tried to negotiate a deal on a separate $1.9 trillion economic package, another key component of Biden's agenda that many Democrats had tied to the fate of the infrastructure bill.
The legislation will deliver $550 billion of new federal investments in America's infrastructure over five years, including money for roads, bridges, mass transit, rail, airports, ports and waterways. The package includes a $65 billion investment in improving the nation's broadband infrastructure, and invests tens of billions of dollars in improving the electric grid and water systems. Another $7.5 billion would go to building a nationwide network of plug-in electric vehicle chargers, according to the bill text.
Biden called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just before midnight to congratulate her on the passage of the infrastructure bill, a source familiar with the call told CNN. On the call, Pelosi thanked Biden for his help in getting the bill over the finish line as well.
