The Senate is racing to finish up its remaining work on the trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure package over the weekend as Democrats seek to tackle other key priorities like the budget deal in an ambitious push before the impending recess.
After an unsuccessful and hours-long attempt to wrap up the infrastructure bill Thursday night, the upper chamber will convene again Saturday for a pivotal vote with the hopes of moving to final passage as early as this weekend. Lawmakers are eager to complete work on a bill with $550 billion in new infrastructure spending so they can leave for the month-long break. But the Senate took a pause on Friday since many members traveled to attend the funeral for former GOP Sen. Mike Enzi in Wyoming.
But physical infrastructure isn’t the only legislative effort the Senate will take up in the final days. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has vowed to also hold a vote – after the bipartisan bill but before lawmakers travel back home – on Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget resolution that consists of health care, education and family programs. And while no agreement has materialized, Democrats are also considering voting on an election reforms bill after their landmark legislation stalled in the Senate, according to The Washington Post.
Schumer has yet to map out the exact voting timeline for the rest of his party’s priorities, but he indicated that the Senate will complete the bipartisan bill in a matter of days. He noted that the upper chamber has already considered 22 amendments and is open to considering more, but the Democratic leader has also made it clear he intends to tie up all loose ends imminently.
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“We’ve been trying to vote on amendments all day but have encountered numerous objections from the other side,” Schumer said late Thursday, shortly before the Senate adjourned until the weekend. “However, we very much want to finish this important bill, so we will reconvene Saturday at noon to vote on cloture and then we will follow the regular order to finish the bill.”
When the Senate meets on Saturday afternoon, lawmakers will take at least one procedural vote. The timing of any other votes remained unclear as of late Friday afternoon, but it’s possible they are also taken up on Saturday – including the potential for final passage.
To end debate on the bill, the bipartisan group will need to clear the 60-vote threshold and overcome a potential filibuster. All 50 Democrats will need to secure support from at least 10 Republicans. In past procedural votes, Democrats were joined by 17 Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky – though future support isn’t guaranteed.
While there appears to be enough votes at the moment, some Republican support could soften, especially after a cost analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bipartisan bill will add about $256 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years. Many members – and mostly Republicans – wanted the legislation to be fully paid for, but the funding mechanisms in the bill cover a little over half of the new spending.
Based on previous votes, the bipartisan group can afford to lose seven GOP votes and still make it to final passage, which then only needs to garner a simple majority.
When it comes to subsequently passing the Democrat-only bill, the party will only need 51 votes since they are using the budget reconciliation process, which lowers the vote threshold from 60 for budget-related bills. No Republicans support the vastly larger bill, but Democrats can push it across the finish line without them – though it also requires the tough feat of garnering uniform support from the party and no defections.
Once both bills clear the Senate – likely by next week – the House will take center stage in the fight over physical and human infrastructure. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California reiterated Friday she won’t take up the bipartisan bill unless the Senate sends over both pieces of legislation at the same time.
“Whatever you can achieve in a bipartisan way – bravo, we salute it, we applaud it, we hope that it will pass soon,” Pelosi said at her press conference. “But at the same time, we’re not going forward with leaving people behind.”
When asked if the House could be called back early from recess to address both pieces of legislation, Pelosi wouldn’t offer a potential new timeline for her chamber if the Senate sends the bills over before lawmakers are scheduled to return to Washington in late September.
“Well, let’s see what happens,” she said. “I did say that we’re going to do this when we can do it all.”
