Senators release $1 trillion infrastructure bill

Sen. Rob Portman and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 2 August 2021

On Sunday night, Democratic and Republican senators unveiled their $1 trillion infrastructure bill, with Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) saying it "takes our aging and outdated infrastructure in this country and modernizes it, and that's good for everybody."

The White House supports the bipartisan, 2,700-page Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which funds improvements to the nation's roads, bridges, ports, and pipes. About half of the package would be new federal spending, with the rest planned investments, The Washington Post reports. Spending would be covered through several different means, including collecting unpaid taxes on cryptocurrency.

The package includes $73 billion to modernize the country's energy grid; $66 billion for passenger railways; $55 billion to improve drinking water, including replacing every lead pipe in the U.S.; $65 billion to expand broadband internet access; and $7.5 billion for the first-ever national network of electric vehicle charging stations. The Senate voted last week to move ahead with debate on the infrastructure proposal, which effectively needs 60 votes to pass, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday night said a final vote on the bill could take place "in a matter of days."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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