Pelosi Seeks Infrastructure Vote Today, but Progressives Resist
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is pressuring House Democrats to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill as soon as today but is running into stiff opposition from progressives, who want to see the legislative text of a larger tax and spending package first.
Pelosi’s leadership team alerted members that a vote on the infrastructure bill may occur sometime during the day, following President Joe Biden briefing Democrats on a framework for a spending plan, according to a Democratic aide familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan isn’t yet public.
Biden also urged Democrats to act on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill during his private meeting with House Democrats, according to lawmakers, some of whom said Biden gave no guidance on timing.
Members of the House Democratic leadership team were attempting to assess whether they have the votes to pass the infrastructure plan, with the aim of making a decision on whether to proceed by this afternoon. The Senate approved the legislation in August, and House passage would give Biden a major win as he heads later today to Europe to attend summit meetings with global leaders.
But many progressives continue to oppose acting on the infrastructure bill without also being able to see a $1.75 trillion social spending bill, which has been the focus of intensive negotiations for months. Democrats don’t yet have the framework unveiled by Biden today translated into legislation.
“I’m a no on infrastructure until we get the other bill,” Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of the Democrats’ Congressional Progressive Caucus leadership, said this morning. She said she didn’t want to take people’s word for supporting the tax and social spending package.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) urged the House to postpone a vote on the infrastructure bill until “they see very clear language and know that there are 50 senators on board whatever the agreement may be” on the larger tax and spending bill.
New — WH releases framework proposal, detailing what’s in the $1.75T plan. https://t.co/gGah4JkVsE pic.twitter.com/x584XFdUZH — Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 28, 2021
Pelosi met with progressives after the Biden meeting and did not respond to questions from reporters afterward.
Procedurally, Pelosi needs only to call the bill up for a vote on the floor. Members were advised in a notice that potential floor action on the bill could occur today, though that doesn’t guarantee it will.
House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio is among those leading the effort to convince members to vote for the bill. He sent a “Dear Colleague” letter this morning to Democrats that Pelosi’s office helped to circulate. The infrastructure legislation includes funding for the highway trust fund. That’s now subject to a temporary extension that expires Oct. 31.
In it, DeFazio said that another short-term extension of highway funding — such as the current one that expires at the end of the month — is “highly disruptive to transportation project planning and delivery” by departments, and local governments.
Wow. A senior House Democrat tells me yes, Pelosi is def moving forward today with a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill -- despite at least some progressives vowing not to support it.
"We will leave the vote open until it passes." — Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) October 28, 2021
“It will take all Democrats working together to reach the finish line on both of these bills,” he wrote. “That’s why I’m asking all members of the House Democratic Caucus to join together to support the infrastructure bill when it is called up in the House.”
— With assistance from Laura Litvan.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing below or go here for more info:
