Senate sets timeframe for infrastructure package

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) indicated that the Senate should expect to vote on a bipartisan infrastructure package later this month.

The framework of the package was agreed to in late June and has the support of the “G-22,” a group of 11 Democrat and 11 Republican senators. The framework’s initial total cost is $1.2 trillion, with $109 billion going to roads and bridges and $11 billion marked for safety.

Senate Democrats intend on pairing the infrastructure package with a companion $3.5 trillion budget resolution made up of priorities kept out of the bipartisan bill, including action on climate change, increases to childcare and a potential increase on taxes for corporations.

In the House, the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee completed a markup of its FY22 budget Monday night. The budget proposal passed by a voice vote.

The budget proposal allocates $105.7 billion for the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)–a $19 billion increase over both last year’s enacted budget and the budget request made by President Joe Biden for this fiscal year.

The spending bill now goes to a markup before the full House Appropriations Committee on Friday.