The US Senate voted on Wednesday to approve a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure deal, as Republicans joined with Democrats to clear the way for action on An important part of US President Joe Biden's agenda.
A 67 to 32 votes in favour, with 17 Republicans in favour, came just hours after senators in both parties and the White House reached a compromise. The long-awaited bill, which would provide about $550 billion in new federal money for roads, bridges, railroads, water systems, and other physical infrastructure programs.
Among those who have supported the project is Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has long thwarted key legislation pushed by Democratic presidents. Senator McConnell's support indicates that his party, at least for the time being, was open to cooperating with Democrats on the plan.
The agreement still faces many obstacles to becoming law, including its transformation into a formal legislative text and the liquidation of final votes in the deeply divided Senate and House.
But the vote was a victory for a president who had long promised to break the partisan stalemate controlling Congress, and accomplish big things backed by members of both political parties. If this measure is enacted, it will be the largest infusion of federal funds into the public works system in more than a decade.
In a lengthy statement, Biden hailed the vote on the project as the most important long-term investment in our infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century.
He added: Neither side got everything it wanted in this deal...but what this concession and consensus means is the essence of democracy.
There is still a lot of work ahead of us to complete the project, there will be disagreements to resolve and more compromises to progress along this path.
