In a 220-212 vote on Tuesday, the House passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution and advanced a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The vote allows Democrats to write and approve a spending package without Republicans and puts the Senate-passed infrastructure plan on a path to final passage in the House, reported CNBC.
The measure includes a nonbinding commitment to vote on the infrastructure bill by September 27. The deal aims to appease nine centrist Democrats who pushed the House to consider the bipartisan plan before it took up the Democratic budget resolution, Inside Towers reported.
In a statement late Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), said she is “committing to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by September 27,” and would “rally” her caucus to pass it. She also stressed that she aims to pass a budget reconciliation bill that could get through the Senate — meaning it may prove smaller than House progressives want.
Pelosi wanted to pass the bipartisan and Democratic budget and infrastructure plans at the same time in order to ensure centrists and progressives back both measures. The nine Democrats withheld their support; they wanted the House to vote on infrastructure first, Inside Towers noted.
The Democratic centrists and progressives ended up voting with their party Tuesday, CNBC reported. In a statement after the vote, the Democrats led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) said their deal with party leaders “does what we set out to do: secure a standalone vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, send it to the President’s desk, and then separately consider the reconciliation package.”
Democrats still need to overcome several hurdles — and write a budget bill that can win support from spending-wary centrists and progressives alike — to get the proposals through a narrowly divided Congress.
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association praised the action. NATE Director of Government Relations Todd Washam told Inside Towers, the association is pleased “that the House has taken one more step in the legislative process to advance legislation that contains $65 billion in funding for broadband infrastructure and deployment.” Washam, who’s also the Director of NATE’s Wireless Industry Network, explained: “There is still a considerable amount of work to do to ensure this legislation is signed into law, and NATE will continue to advocate for contractor and industry priorities as the infrastructure bill advances.”
The Wireless Infrastructure Association “is thrilled that the Senate-approved bill, with our hard-won victories for wireless, is set for a vote in September,” WIA President/CEO Jonathan Adelstein told Inside Towers. “This only increases the already strong chances we have to keep the Senate provisions intact and get them enacted into law,” Adelstein emphasized.
By Leslie Stimson , Inside Towers, Washington Bureau Chief
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