Senate Advances Debate On $550 Billion Infrastructure Bill

The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to begin deliberations on a $550-billion infrastructure bill after a bipartisan working group announced the measure had garnered enough support.

The bill, proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden months ago, proposes funding for roads, bridges, public transit, electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, electric buses, power infrastructure, and environmental remediation.

Seventeen Republican Senators and all 50 Democrats voted 67-32 to advance the bill for discussion at the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said senators may work into the weekend for the bill to pass.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will invest $110 billion of new funds for roads, bridges, and major projects, $11 billion in transportation safety programs, $39 billion of new investment to modernize transit, $66 billion in rail, $7.5 billion to build out a national network of EV chargers, $2.5 billion in zero-emission buses and $2.5 billion in low emission buses, $17 billion in port infrastructure, and $25 billion in airports, among other funding.

The investment in EV chargers is “the first-ever national investment in EV charging infrastructure in the United States and is a critical element in the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to accelerate the adoption of EVs to address the climate crisis and support domestic manufacturing jobs,” the White House said.

The investment in power infrastructure of $73 billion investment “is the single largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history.  It upgrades our power infrastructure, including by building thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy,” the White House noted.

“I am pleased to join a bipartisan group of United States Senators and announce our deal to make the most significant long-term investment in our infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century,” President Biden said in a statement.

“Americans will build transmission lines and upgrade our power grid to be more resilient and cleaner,” the president added.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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