US Senate approves $3.5tn spending plan

THE US Senate has approved a $3.5 trillion (£2.5 trillion) spending blueprint in a “big, bold” increase for welfare in America, billed as its most significant piece of legislation in decades.

The budget would bolster healthcare, education and efforts to combat climate change, while raising taxes for wealthy Americans and corporations.

The 50-49 vote was held at 4am, after nearly 15 hours of debate.

Some Democrats have said that the measures do not go far enough, especially on green energy. Republicans have called the proposal “radical” and condemned tax increases.

“We still have a way to go, but we’ve taken a giant step forward to transforming America,” said Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader.

“It is big, bold change – the kind of change America thirsts for.”

There will now be weeks of debate before final approval as the Democrats attempt to craft a package that can win over the progressive and moderate wings of the party.

The vote came after the Senate passed a $1trillion infrastructure bill in a bipartisan 69-30 vote, proposing to make the country’s biggest investment in decades in roads, bridges, airports, clean water and broadband.

The two bills have been a priority for President Joe Biden, who has sought to enact sweeping changes while Democrats have legislative control before the mid-term elections next year.

The Democrats plan to push the package through over the next few months, using a process known as budget reconciliation, which allows them to pass legislation with a simple majority vote.

The bill faces a difficult road ahead, however. Republicans have railed against the $3.5 trillion spending plan.

But the greatest challenge comes from within the Democrat party. It only has a majority of one in the Senate, so if two or more vote against the final plan it will not pass.

Joe Manchin, the senator for Virginia, said: “Given the current state of the economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at levels more suited to respond to a Great Depression or Great Recession – not an economy that is on the verge of overheating.”

There will also need to be an agreement to increase the borrowing limit on the federal budget by Oct 1, or the US could default on its debt.