On Friday, the House enacted a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, but not the far bigger, far-reaching climate and social spending bill that had been intended.
House of Congress passed Biden’s $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill. (Photo: ABC News)
House of Representatives Able To Strike A Deal
In a recently published article in Yahoo News, the now-successful infrastructure package was approved by the House 228-206, with 13 Republicans voting in favor. The bill was crafted by a bipartisan group of legislators and contains significant improvements in roads, water quality, bridges, and the internet.
It’s known as BIF, the bipartisan infrastructure framework, since it’s embraced by members of both parties. It now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to become law, having previously cleared the Senate.
Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to cope with a last-minute stalemate between party progressives and moderates, which required hours of hard discussions and the president’s involvement to overcome, according to a published article in Bloomberg.
Chaotic Day in the House of Congress To Vote for Two Bills
However, the Build Back Better Act (BBB), a $1.75 trillion social spending package, did not obtain a vote and will not be sent to the Senate. It includes unprecedented financing for early childhood education and climate change, as well as important healthcare changes.
The vote in the House came after a tumultuous day of back-and-forth over the two votes. Progressives have insisted on linking the votes on the two legislation the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the social expenditure plan. They believed that if the infrastructure bill passed first, moderates who support BIF will forsake the spending package, according to a report published in Los Angeles Times.
Democratic leaders agreed to have a vote on both on Friday in order to meet this demand. This week, a group of moderate Democrats, including Reps. Kurt Schrader, Stephanie Murphy, and Jared Golden called for a postponement of the social spending package until the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) gave it a score indicating how much it would add to the national debt.
Furthermore, as a result of these concerns, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose to retain the infrastructure vote on the books while delaying the vote on the Build Back Better Act until additional information could be gathered.
