Senate holds weekend session to get ‘job done’ on roads bill
WASHINGTON — The Senate convened for a rare weekend session on Saturday, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer encouraging the authors of a bipartisan infrastructure plan to finish writing their bill so that senators can begin offering amendments.
Several senators had predicted that the text of the bill would be ready for review late Friday or early Saturday, but it was not done when the Senate opened for business late in the morning. Schumer said he understood that completing the writing of such a large bill is a difficult project, but he warned that he was prepared to keep lawmakers in Washington for as long as it took to complete votes on both the bipartisan infrastructure plan and a budget blueprint that would allow the Senate to begin work later this year on a massive, $3.5 trillion social, health and environmental bill.
“The longer it takes to finish, the longer we will be here, but we’re going to get the job done,” Schumer said.
The bipartisan plan is also big, with $550 billion in new spending over five years beyond the typical highway and public works accounts. Adding the anticipated spending in those accounts in the next five years bumps up the total cost to nearly $1 trillion. A draft bill circulating Capitol Hill indicated it could have more than 2,500 pages when introduced. It’s being financed from funding sources that might not pass muster with deficit hawks, including repurposing untapped COVID-19 relief aid and relying on projected future economic growth.
Among the major investments are $110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit and $66 billion for rail. There’s also $55 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure as well as billions for airports, ports, broadband internet and electric vehicle charging stations.
A bipartisan group of senators helped it clear one more hurdle Friday and braced to see if support could hold during the next few days of debate and efforts to amend it.
Schumer wants the voting to be wrapped up before senators break for their August recess.
Earlier last week, 17 GOP senators joined all Democrats in voting to start the debate, launching what will be a dayslong process to consider the bill. That support largely held Friday, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., again voting yes to nudge the process along.
But whether the number of Republican senators willing to pass a key part of President Joe Biden’s agenda grows or shrinks in the days ahead will determine if the president’s signature issue can make it across the finish line.