Infrastructure deal: Senate suddenly acts to take up bill

Jul 29, 20210

J. Scott Applewhite - Associated Press count

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., center, joined from left by, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., speaks to reporters just after a vote to start work on a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON - The Senate voted Wednesday night to begin work on a nearly $1 trillion national infrastructure plan, acting with sudden speed after weeks of fits and starts once the White House and a bipartisan group of senators agreed on major provisions of the package that's key to President Joe Biden's agenda.

Biden welcomed the accord as one that would show America can "do big things." It includes the most significant long-term investments in nearly a century, he said, on par with building the transcontinental railroad or the Interstate highway system.

"This deal signals to the world that our democracy can function," Biden said ahead of the vote. "We will once again transform America and propel us into the future."

https://www.startribune.com/infrastructure-deal-senate-suddenly-acts-to-take-up-bill/600082163/