The Infrastructure Thread (formerly BI: America's infrastructure is decaying)

[Jabbyrwock]

19 minutes ago, Larry said:

I'm wondering how they got the semi up high enough to hit the span. 

 

Redneck powers activate!

 

[Momma There Goes That Man]

Sounds like Optimus Prime was in GA

[China]

Manchin signals he'll be team player on spending deal

 

Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), a crucial centrist vote in the Democratic caucus, is signaling to colleagues that he won’t derail a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that contains many of President Biden’s legislative priorities. 

 

Senate Democrats say Manchin has indicated he will not stand in the way of the measure moving forward and will be generally supportive as long as he’s kept in the loop on his top concerns: how to pay for the bill and a clean energy provision.

 

Manchin told colleagues Wednesday where he stood at a caucus luncheon attended by Biden, where Democrats discussed their plans for passing two major infrastructure bills. The West Virginia senator said he waited until Biden left the room to explain his position to fellow Democrats. 

 

“I did not speak while Joe Biden was there out of respect. He did a great job and everything,” he said, explaining that after Biden left he wanted colleagues to have a clear understanding of his own views.

 

“Afterward I wanted to make sure they knew where I was coming from. I’m concerned about inflation, I’m concerned about a competitive tax code, I’m concerned about environmental standards that basically leave people behind in all these things,” Manchin told The Hill. 

 

Manchin confirmed that he let colleagues know that he’s not interested in gumming up the works by blocking the budget resolution, a move that would stall efforts to start piecing together a bill that is expected to cost $3.5 trillion and pass with a simple majority vote later this year.

 

“I want it to proceed,” Manchin said, adding that he wants to be part of the negotiations on a reconciliation bill that would be set up by successful passage of a joint budget resolution.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Trouble: IRS funding snags bipartisan infrastructure deal

 

A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators is looking to replace a proposal to provide $40 billion in new funding for the Internal Revenue Service, which is projected to net $100 billion in new revenues through tougher tax enforcement, because the idea is drawing heat from conservatives.

 

Members of the group and sources briefed on the discussion say that negotiators are looking for an alternative to the so-called IRS pay-for in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which is seen as a major source of revenue. But the problem is there aren’t any obvious options for finding $100 billion in revenue to replace the IRS provision.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Schumer drops bomb on Senate with speedy infrastructure timeline

 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) dropped a bomb on lawmakers Thursday morning when he outlined an ambitious timeline propelling the bipartisan infrastructure proposal toward floor action next week.

 

Why it matters: The senators involved have their work cut out for them. There's still a lot of concern about how to pay for the $1 trillion bill, which is key to shoring up Republican support for the measure.

 

The group of 10 negotiators huddled for hours Thursday afternoon in a room on the first floor of the Capitol, working to resolve the remaining — and most controversial — sticking points.

 

White House officials Steve Ricchetti, Brian Deese and Louisa Terrell joined them roughly an hour in, until they eventually broke and the senators flew home for the weekend.

 

The group said it plans to continue negotiating throughout the weekend, with the goal of producing legislative text by the time the Senate returns on Monday.

 

What they're saying: "The good news is is that we are all still talking. The bad news is we've got a pretty tight timeframe," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters.

 

Between the lines: Axios reported early Thursday that a prominent pay-for initially in the bipartisan framework — a $40 billion infusion to help the Internal Revenue Service with tax enforcement — is being re-thought.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[China]

Unfortunately Republicans don't care about what the people they serve want, they just want to obstruct and say everything the Dems do is bad.

[Larry]

2 hours ago, China said:

Unfortunately Republicans don't care about what the people they serve want, they just want to obstruct and say everything the Dems do is bad.

 

"If you're fed up with the fact that we keep winning Congressional fights, you should vote for us."  

[China]

Graham says he'd 'leave town' to stop $3.5T spending plan

 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in a Sunday interview said he'd be willing to mimic the actions of Texas Democrats and "leave town" to prevent Democrats in Congress from passing their $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. 

 

"I would leave before I would let that happen," the senator told anchor Maria Bartiromo on "Sunday Morning Futures." 

 

"So, to my Republican colleagues, we may learn something from our Democratic friends in Texas when it comes to avoiding a $3.5 trillion tax-and-spend package: Leave town," he continued.

 

Texas Democrats left the state last week for Washington, D.C., to prevent a vote on a measure to impose more restrictive voting laws in the state.

 

"Hell yeah I would leave," Graham said in discussing the reconciliation package. "I'm not - I will use everything lawfully in my toolbox to prevent rampant inflation."

 

Democrats unveiled a $3.5 trillion plan last week that they expect to pass as a budget resolution and then turn into a reconciliation package that under Senate budgetary rules can move through the upper chamber without being filibustered.

 

Democrats would not be able to afford a single defection from their Senate caucus, but the GOP could not stop the measure if the Democrats stick together.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Bipartisan infrastructure deal on life support as key Senate test vote looms

 

President Joe Biden's agenda appears on the brink.

 

After months of wind up, practice drills and tight votes, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is on the cusp of his most serious high wire act yet. The Democrat from New York returns to Washington on Monday with two goals this week: get consensus within his ranks on a $3.5 trillion budget and see once and for all whether the bipartisan group's effort to secure an infrastructure deal is real or not.

It's notable that most members and the public still have not seen any formal language of either the bipartisan bill or the budget. Democratic rank-and-file have to make up their minds in a matter of days on two proposals they don't have the details about yet. So far, we know only what members have said about the budget. For the bipartisan bill, the public has only seen a two-page framework that came out last month and has already changed.

 

Schumer is expected to file cloture Monday evening on a bipartisan piece of infrastructure legislation that doesn't even exist yet, that will set up a key test vote on the bipartisan deal on Wednesday.

That timeline that puts pressure on negotiators to finalize an agreement they don't yet have and has angered Republicans who argue Schumer is trying to undermine their progress. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[tshile]

4 hours ago, China said:

"So, to my Republican colleagues, we may learn something from our Democratic friends in Texas when it comes to avoiding a $3.5 trillion tax-and-spend package: Leave town," he continued.

Yes

how dare someone decide to spend money on improving our country, and fund it with taxes 

[Larry]

Lindsey, do you promise to stay gone as long as the Texas Dems?  

[China]

Senate votes to advance Biden’s $1T infrastructure bill

 

The Senate moved closer to passing a $1 trillion infrastructure package Saturday after lawmakers from both parties came together and voted to clear a key procedural hurdle, but the action soon stalled out as opponents tried to slow the rush to approve one of President Joe Biden’s top priorities.

 

The measure would provide a massive injection of federal money for a range of public works programs, from roads and bridges to broadband internet access, drinking water and more. In a rare stroke of bipartisanship, Republicans joined the Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the measure toward final votes. The vote was 67-27, a robust tally. If approved, the bill would go to the House.

 

But momentum dragged as opponents refused to yield 30 hours of required debate before the next procedural vote, which could delay swift passage of the package and result in a dayslong slog.

 

“We can get this done the easy way or the hard way,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said as the Senate opened on Saturday.

 

Senators are meeting for a second consecutive weekend to work on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is the first of Biden’s two infrastructure packages. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Donald Trump Melts Down on Mitch McConnell Over Infrastructure Package – And Threatens GOP Lawmakers

 

Former President Donald Trump criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Republican lawmakers’ $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. Describing the incentive as “a disgrace,” Trump condemned the package shortly before the upper chamber’s scheduled vote on the long-debated effort, according to The Hill.

 

Releasing a statement through the “Save America PAC,” Trump took direct aim at McConnell.

 

“Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill is a disgrace,” Trump wrote. “If Mitch McConnell was smart, which we’ve seen no evidence of, he would use the debt ceiling card to negotiate a good infrastructure package.”

 

Trump admitted that he doubts lawmakers actually took the time to read the lengthy piece of proposed legislation, which is reportedly comprised of 2,700 pages. He added, “They would have needed to take speed reading courses.”

 

“It is a gift to the Democrat Party, compliments of Mitch McConnell and some RINOs [Republicans in name only], who have no idea what they are doing,” he added.

 

Focusing on the upcoming elections, the former president noted that he believes the “infrastructure bill will be used against the Republican Party.”

 

Trump even included what appears to be a veiled threat toward current Republican lawmakers as he warned, “It will be very hard for me to endorse anyone foolish enough to vote in favor of this deal.”

 

Despite Trump’s latest rant, none of the Republican lawmakers in support of the bill have signaled that they will vote to oppose the bill.

 

“We still have amendments that need to be processed.” McConnell said, adding, “Once they are, we’ll be able to wind things down.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Momma There Goes That Man]

Ask him what the debt ceiling is 

[Larry]

23 minutes ago, China said:

 

Trump admitted that he doubts lawmakers actually took the time to read the lengthy piece of proposed legislation, which is reportedly comprised of 2,700 pages. He added, “They would have needed to take speed reading courses.”

Name five things that's in it. 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

 

 

 

[China]

U.S. Senate to vote on passage of $1 trillion infrastructure bill

 

The U.S. Senate has set a Tuesday vote on passage of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that is one of President Joe Biden's top priorities, and then will immediately begin to debate a more far-reaching $3.5 trillion bill.

 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced late on Monday that a week-long debate on the bipartisan bill will conclude at 11 a.m. ET (1500 GMT) Tuesday when a vote is held on passage, which is expected.

 

The Senate is then expected to vote to begin debate of the larger bill - a budget blueprint that is a key goal for progressive Democrats.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

Damn, actual legislating.  It’s been a while.

 

Also…INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK ****ES!

Edited August 10, 2021 by TryTheBeal!

[China]

The House better not **** things up:

 

Quote

The bill is now heading to the House, where it faces an uncertain future and skepticism from progressives. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has vowed she won’t take it up until the Senate passes the second part of its infrastructure two step, a sweeping $3.5 trillion spending package that includes Democrats’ top priorities.

 

Link

[88Comrade2000]

22 minutes ago, China said:

The House better not **** things up:

 

 

Link

Of course they will.  When they finally vote on that bill along with the other reconciliation bill; they will have made changes to the bipartisan bill that will find the gop saying no to the changes.

[TheGreatBuzz]

15 minutes ago, Rdskns2000 said:

Of course they will.  When they finally vote on that bill along with the other reconciliation bill; they will have made changes to the bipartisan bill that will find the gop saying no to the changes.

Probably.  There is way too much celebrating going on right now.  Save the victory laps until the bill is signed by Biden.

[Cooked Crack]

16 minutes ago, Rdskns2000 said:

Of course they will.  When they finally vote on that bill along with the other reconciliation bill; they will have made changes to the bipartisan bill that will find the gop saying no to the changes.

Doubt they'll make any changes to the bill. Probably not even the reconciliation bill. If Senate Dems actually agree to a recon bill, it's passing. Pelosi is actually good at her job and will pass what comes out.

[Califan007 The Constipated]