Senate lawmakers on July 21 defeated a procedural motion to take up a $1 trillion infrastructure spending measure, but lawmakers left open the option for taking up the measure during the week beginning July 26.
Senators voted on a cloture motion (a motion to bring debate to an end) regarding a House-passed infrastructure bill (H.R. 3684) which is to serve as a vehicle for the Senate legislative language. The final vote was 49-51 and failed to achieve the necessary 60 votes for passage as many lawmakers complained that there was no text as yet and they were disinclined to move the process forward until they had a complete bill.
“No bipartisan agreement, no text, nothing for the Congressional Budget Office to evaluate, and certainly nothing on which to vote. Not yet,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, from the floor of the Senate. “Of course, here in the Senate, a failed cloture vote does not mean no forever,” he added.
The bipartisan group of senators working on the bill said they are near completion and hope to have final text ready by the end of the week. The measure addresses the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges, water, power, and transit infrastructure.
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