President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of 21 senators reached a compromise June 24, 2021 regarding the nation’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework.
This was announced after a 30-minute meeting with the senators in the Oval Office, reported USA Today News. The proposal has a backing of 11 Republican senators and 10 moderate Democrats.
The plan would modernize the nation's deteriorating transportation and public works systems. The total cost of the plan is $1.2 trillion over eight years, with $579 billion in new spending, reported USA Today News.
Specific aspects of the plan include: modernizing water and sewer pipes, roads, bridges, rail, broadband internet, and electric vehicles.
According to The White House fact sheet about the infrastructure plan, a key element pertaining to the water industry in the plan is to eliminate the nation’s lead service lines and pipes. This would mean “delivering clean drinking water to up to ten million American families and more than 400,000 schools and child care facilities that currently don’t have it, including in Tribal nations and disadvantaged communities,” according to The White House statement.
The proposal allocates:
- $55 billion for water infrastructure;
- $5 billion for western water storage;
- And $16 billion for ports and waterways.
"We all agree that none of us got all we wanted. I clearly didn't get all I wanted, they gave more than I think maybe what they were planning to give in the first place," said Biden in a statement, reported CNN. "But this reminds me of the days when we used to get an awful lot done up in the U.S. Congress. Bipartisan deals mean compromise."
The plan also proposes several ways to pay for the spending that avoid a gas tax increase and a corporate tax hike, reported USA Today.
There are enough votes to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the filibuster, assuming all Senate Democrats vote for the deal, reported USA Today.
