Senate Sets Up Final Passage of Infrastructure Bill

Politics|The Senate sets up final passage of the $1 trillion infrastructure deal.

• Aug. 9, 2021, 8:35 a.m. ET

The Senate is expected on Monday to trudge toward final passage of a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure package, after clearing the last significant procedural hurdles for the legislation over the weekend.

The legislation is widely expected to pass, after nearly 70 senators voted to advance it late Sunday night. It is the product of weeks of intense negotiations, largely led by White House officials and a core group of 10 Republican and Democratic senators.

Absent unanimous agreement to expedite the process, the bill may not pass until around 3 a.m. Tuesday because Senate rules require 30 hours of debate. Senator Bill Hagerty, Republican of Tennessee, was the lone holdout, refusing to agree over the weekend to accelerate the bill, largely to register a complaint about how it is paid for.

After spending a relatively rare weekend in Washington plodding through the legislative process, senators remained hopeful that on Monday, in addition to securing agreement on an earlier vote time, they would be able to vote on additional changes to the legislation.

Rank-and-file lawmakers spent hours haggling over a pair of dueling amendments that would adjust who would be subject to increased tax scrutiny on cryptocurrency, among other outstanding proposals. But it was unclear whether senators would agree to the additional votes.

As soon as the bipartisan bill clears the Senate, Democratic leaders plan to turn attention to their $3.5 trillion budget plan, which would unlock a second expansive legislative package that includes health care, child care and education provisions. Liberal Democrats in the House have said they will not support the bipartisan bill without passage of that far larger package.

Half a dozen moderate Democrats, including Representatives Jared Golden of Maine and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, circulated a letter over the weekend calling for Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California to ensure a swift vote on the bipartisan deal.