House Democrats approved a $ 1.5 trillion infrastructure bill Wednesday as Republicans accused them of investing money in what one congressman called a “partisan wish list.”
The Advancement Act was passed by a vote of 233-188 that was almost entirely along the party lines. It goes beyond transportation to finance schools, healthcare facilities, public services and affordable housing, and opponents argue that it focuses too much on cities and climate change.
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“Rather than seeking bipartisan solutions, this bill adds $ 1.5 trillion to the nation’s debt and disguises a green and unwieldy New Deal regime with new requirements as an ‘infrastructure bill,'” the representative said. Missouri Sam Graves, according to The Associated. Press: Graves is the top Republican on the House Committee on Infrastructure and Transportation.
Transportation committee chairman Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, touted the bill as a “transformative investment in American infrastructure that will create millions of jobs,” but Graves said it was simply “a partisan wish list,” because of Democrats, including House President Nancy Pelosi files many of her own demands instead of working toward a bipartisan measure that stands a chance of success.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, has already mocked the House bill as “pure fantasy,” according to Politico.
The only Republicans who voted in favor of the bill are Pennsylvania Representative Brian Fitzpatrick and New Jersey Representatives Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith. Two Democrats, Representatives Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Ben McAdams of Utah, voted against.
The White House has already threatened to veto the bill, saying it would “disproportionately benefit urban areas of the United States” and divert money from the Highway Trust Fund for transit and rail projects that “have seen declining fees for market in recent years. “
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The bill includes hundreds of billions of dollars intended to improve high-poverty schools with dangerous facilities, create or preserve affordable homes, improve child care facilities, and increase access to clean water. It also aims to boost low and zero emission vehicles and reduce carbon pollution, including $ 25 billion for the United States Postal Service for modernization that includes a fleet of electric vehicles.
A narrower infrastructure bill was passed by a Senate committee nearly a year ago, but has not progressed since.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
