House passes bipartisan $1.2tn infrastructure bill after Dems drop arms

The House finally passed President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill late on Friday night after months of infighting within the Democratic Party.

This probably was the Biden Administration’s biggest win since it took office. It does however, come at a cost for both the Democrats and Republicans.

Both parties had its members jump ship. Six Progressives from the “Squad” voted against the bill, while 13 Republicans voted in its favor.

Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, opposed it.

The bill will provide funding for infrastructure projects like roads, broadband internet, water pipelines, bridges, etc.

It will now advance to President Biden’s desk for final approval, as the Senate had already voted to approve the bill in August.

The bill was passed only after months of negotiations between the Progressives and Moderates, led by Democratic leaders. Talks had collapsed just minutes before the vote as well, but 13 other Progressives and Republicans finally came to the rescue.

The “Build Back Better Act” was also scheduled for Friday, but it has been pushed back. Moderates had demanded the Congressional Budget Office to score the revised social spending bill for better assessment.

As the scoring can take several weeks, the vote had to be delayed further. The ice finally broke between the Democrats after the Moderates agreed to vote on the social spending bill the way it currently is after the CBO score.

They did however, add a condition to reevaluate their position if the CBO score shows discrepancies.

About 20 Progressives had originally opposed the bipartisan infrastructure bill minutes before the vote. 13 of them reportedly agreed after President Biden addressed their concerns.

They had originally wanted to get both the bills passed on the same day. Thus, hoping to delay the infrastructure bill until the revised social spending bill was scored.

What’s next for the revised social spending bill

The revised social spending bill is now set to be passed by the House before Thanksgiving, according to Biden. It’s yet to face its true opposition in the Senate where all 50 Democratic votes are required for it to be passed.

Senator Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are set to face a lot of pressure and bullying. They, just like most Republicans, worry that the social spending would overburden the taxpayer and put the US in more debt.

Progressives have argued that the wealthy Americans will somehow pay for it, but such an outcome seems far away if not wholly or legally impossible.

As the social spending package has no self-sustainability, it is set to put financial pressure on all of us.