The House Democrats Set a Date for the Infrastructure Vote
No later than September 27!
Two weeks ago the U.S. Senate shocked the world when, despite being evenly split between Democrats and Republicans (with the former holding the slight advantage because by rule Vice President Kamala Harris votes as the tiebreaker) it managed to pass a humongous infrastructure bill with bipartisan support.
I mean, really. Shocking. These people rarely agree on anything. In very recent history they have often opted to do nothing on purpose. And then – the Senate passed a big, honking public infrastructure bill loaded with important Buy America language.
Well howdy do! Nineteen Republicans joined the Democrats! The legislative process worked!
But hold on, Kemosabe. Now it’s the House’s turn to pass this infrastructure bill, and that’s proving to be no easy feat. While the Democrats hold the majority in this chamber too, it’s by a pretty close margin – and the factions among House Democratic caucus are beefing over timing. Do they pass the infrastructure bill first? Or do they first begin the process of budget reconciliation, which is the vehicle by which Congressional Democrats will advance the majority of President Biden’s economic agenda?
A small group of centrists have been holding out, trying to get House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to move the infrastructure bill before the big economic agenda vehicle. And without their buy-in, the much larger Democratic bloc doesn’t have the votes to advance either.
So where does this leave the timing for the infrastructure bill? Well … it looks like the House Democrats got … a deal … done?
The House’s infrastructure vote now has a September 27 deadline. That’s only like a month away. Set your calendars accordingly!