While the climate-friendly infrastructure bill that would upgrade the United States’ crumbling infrastructure passed the House of Representatives in Wednesday, it has little chance of making it through the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed the bill will “die” upon arrival.
The bill, H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, passed 233-188 as Democrats “did not try to garner Republican involvement in crafting the bill because they said they were convinced that Republicans would not go along with the emissions reductions measures they wanted, which are sprinkled throughout the bill,” Politico reported. The $1.5 trillion package includes investing in clean energy, public lands, and transit systems and focused less on building new roads, Sierra Club said in a press release.
“This bill offers much-needed modernization of our infrastructure, from transit systems to our energy grid, to create millions of good jobs, reduce pollution, and build a more accessible and sustainable public transportation system,” Michael Brune, executive director of Sierra Club, said. “Its investments in public lands would spur job creation where it’s needed most and ensure cleaner, more accessible landscapes for all. And it finally begins to address the lead pipe water crisis that communities across the nation—particularly communities of color—have been fighting for years.”
The bulk of the money, $494 billion, would go to “re-authorization of surface transportation programs like roads and bridges,” Politico reported. The bill will also dedicate money to building schools, hospitals, housing, broadband, drinking water, storm water, the energy grid and vehicle safety.
McConnell called the bill “nonsense,” “absurd,” and “pure fantasy,” while collectively, Republicans said it’s a Democratic wish-list.
The Trump administration said it would veto the bill if passed by Senate.
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