8/10/2021 Update: On Tuesday morning, Aug. 10, the Senate passed its bipartisan infrastructure plan, H.R. 3684, by a 69-30 margin. A group of ten senators – nicknamed the “G10” and led by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Rob Portman (R-OH) – were the drivers behind this infrastructure framework. Next, the Senate will work through the reconciliation process for a $3.5 trillion budget resolution. When they are back in session later this month or early next, the House plans to act on both the infrastructure bill and the budget resolution.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 comes as an alternative to reauthorizing the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which is set to expire at the end of September. It also incorporates key pieces of the Biden Administration’s domestic policy agenda. This 2,702-page bill - written across the aisle and being offered as a Senate amendment to H.R. 3684 - provides approximately $550 billion in new infrastructure spending over the next five years for surface transportation, including roads, bridges, rail, public transit, and airports; broadband; resiliency; water infrastructure, including for waste water and drinking water, and ports and waterways; and modernization, including low-carbon programs, electric vehicle charging, connecting communities, and addressing pollution. You can read the full bill text here.
It is anticipated that this package will pass the Senate sometime this coming weekend, however, its fate in the House of Representatives is unclear. This package has been tethered to President Biden’s “human infrastructure” plan, which House and Senate Democrats anticipate to pass via the budget reconciliation process to overcome Senate Republican opposition. The process on the budget reconciliation bill will begin next week as soon as the Senate dispenses with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
Among other provisions, this package: