(LibertySociety.com) – On July 21, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refused to vote favorably on an incomplete $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill. And that forced Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to side with Republicans and vote no.
Instead of signing the equivalent of a blank check and filling out the details later, Republicans reasonably believe a bipartisan deal means negotiations should come before a vote happens.
Republican negotiators want to finalize the bill as quickly as possible and have “made significant progress,” including exploring a more modest plan of $579 billion in new infrastructure spending.
They only have six issues left to iron out. Assuming they can “get everything together,” members of Congress expect Schumer to push for a second vote as soon as Monday the 26th.
Senators anticipate Schumer will push for second vote on bipartisan infrastructure deal https://t.co/GqeX9xeeuL pic.twitter.com/fmKYaafXND
— The Hill (@thehill) July 22, 2021
Both sides look forward to helping the American people, but some Republicans worry this small step in President Biden’s infrastructure vision will pave the way to a bigger spending spree than the country can afford.
That’s because the next leg includes a $3.5-trillion “human” infrastructure spending package. But if Democrats want bipartisanship this time, they need to be sure to fill in the blanks before they ask for a cooperative vote.
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