The Senate of the United States largely approved, Tuesday, August 10, the colossal plan of investments in the infrastructures wanted by Joe Biden, in the amount of 1,200 billion dollars (1 trillion euros), offering a large success for the American Democratic President, who will however still have to wait for the final vote in the lower house to claim victory.
This bill was adopted by 69 votes to 30, with the support of more than a third of Republicans, a rare occurrence in a politically ultra-divided Congress.
The text will now have to be put to a vote in the House of Representatives, where its future is more uncertain, because tensions have emerged within the narrow Democratic majority, between the left wing and the centrists. Negotiations promise to be tough and a final vote in Congress may not take place until the fall.
550 billion for roads, bridges, transport
The result of a rare compromise between Democrats and some Republicans, the infrastructure investment plan provides for $ 550 billion in new federal spending on roads, bridges, transport, but also on high-speed Internet and for fight against climate change. If we take into account the reorientation of other existing public funding, it reaches 1,200 billion dollars, the equivalent of Spain’s GDP in 2020.
A deal “Historical”, repeats Joe Biden, ex-senator for three decades, who likes to highlight his talents as negotiators on Capitol Hill, seat of Congress. It is also its vice-president, Kamala Harris, who came to preside over the session to announce this large victory in the Senate.
Joe Biden is in the White House “For only seven months” and the Senate reached agreement on “The largest investment plan for over a decade” with the support of Republicans, a success for which the president offered a « engagement total », said the leader of the Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer, just before the vote.
Former Republican President Donald Trump, he judged that this project was ” a shame “ and threatened with electoral retaliation any Republicans who would vote in favor, warning that its implementation would offer a ” Victoire “ to his Democratic successor.
At least three Republican senators who had participated in the negotiations have also finally declared themselves against. But their influential leader, Mitch McConnell, voted in favor, well aware of the popularity of such a program in a country with failing infrastructure.
Another titanic plan soon to be considered
The agreement between these Republicans and the Democrats will be of very short duration. Now that the infrastructure plan has been passed, the Senate turns to consider another major part of Joe Biden’s agenda: a titanic plan to invest $ 3.5 trillion, almost the equivalent of GDP in 2020 of the economic giant that is Germany, in the “Human infrastructure”.
This other plan will include numerous social expenditures in education, health, the labor market and the climate, with in particular energy transition measures supposed “Put the United States on the way to respect” the ambitious climate goals of Joe Biden, who wants to bring pollution levels in America’s energy sector to zero by 2035 and for the country’s economy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
It’s the “The most important bill for the workers, the elderly, the sick and the poor since Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal of the 1930s”, insisted independent senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the budget committee.
One “Investment that only happens once per generation” aiming to turn around an economy today too “Unfair”, according to the White House. Crazy spending, consider the Republicans, who have promised to fiercely oppose it.
To get around their possible blockade in the Senate, Democrats will use a parliamentary procedure that will allow them to approve it with their only votes (50 in addition to that of Vice President, Kamala Harris, authorized to vote in the event of a tie) . The battle will begin on Tuesday with the launch of a vote on the budget resolution which outlines it.
Senators will then have until September 15 to present the substantive content of the final bill, with a final amount and the means to finance it. Two points that are not yet unanimous among Democrats, centrists having already signaled that they found the bill too high.
The negotiations also promise to be perilous and a final vote in the House may not be held before October, or even November.
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