Senate Votes to Take Up Debate on Infrastructure Bill

Rebecca Downs | July 28, 2021 7:50 PM

On Wednesday evening, the U.S. Senate voted 67-32 to take up the debate with the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

All 50 Democrats voted in favor of continuing, as did 17 Republicans, most notably Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

BREAKING: Senate votes to start work on Biden's infrastructure plan

GOP 'YES' VOTES:
Blunt
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cramer
Crapo
Graham
Grassley
Hoeven
McConnell
Murkowski
Portman
Risch
Romney
Tillis
Young pic.twitter.com/ffWzlid3aK
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 28, 2021

Shortly before the vote, President Joe Biden's official account tweeted out "We’ve reached a historic deal on infrastructure, folks."

We’ve reached a historic deal on infrastructure, folks. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is the largest infrastructure bill in a century. It will grow the economy, create good-paying jobs, and set America on a path to win the future.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 28, 2021

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House released a glowing fact sheet on the deal, which highlights:

Makes the largest federal investment in public transit ever
Makes the largest federal investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak
Makes the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system
Makes the largest investment in clean drinking water and waste water infrastructure in American history, delivering clean water to millions of families
Ensures every American has access to reliable high-speed internet
Helps us tackle the climate crisis by making the largest investment in clean energy transmission and EV infrastructure in history; electrifying thousands of school and transit buses across the country; and creating a new Grid Deployment Authority to build a clean, 21^st century electric grid

CNN's Manu Raju tweeted extensively about the package, including reasons why some Republican senators voted against.

The GOP senators who voted yes: McConnell, Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Shelley Moore Capito, Lisa Murkowki, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, Thom Tillis, Chuck Grassley, Todd Young, Mike Crapo, Roy Blunt, Jim Risch, John Hoeven, Lindsey Graham, Kevin Cramer. Per @alizaslav
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 28, 2021

GOP split on proceeding to infrastructure bill. “Hadn’t read it,” Tuberville told me. “We don’t have a bill yet,” Toomey said. Hawley says it’s stuffed with pork. But others like Burr and McConell voted to proceed. Vote is ongoing
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 28, 2021

This vote comes a week after the Senate failed to do so in a vote of 49-51, with many senators justifying their vote on account of how it was not yet ready. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ultimately voted against it, a procedural move so he could bring it up again.

What is in reality a spending bill has a price tag of nearly $1 trillion.