President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) agenda was bailed out by thirteen House Republicans who voted to pass the $1.2 trillion “bipartisan” infrastructure bill.
The House voted to go along with the Senate amendment to H.R. 3684, the so-called bipartisan infrastructure bill, formerly known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The bill passed 228-206, featuring overwhelming Democrat support and some Republican support.
The thirteen House Republicans who voted to bail out Biden and Pelosi’s agenda gave them House majority to pass the bill.
Those who reportedly voted yes on the infrastructure bill include Reps. John Katko (R-NY), Don Bacon (R-NE), Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ), Fred Upton (R-MI), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Don Young (R-AK), Tom Reed (R-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), and Rep. David McKinley (R-WV).
The House vote on the infrastructure bill occurred after progressives, moderates, and Biden struck an agreement that both sides of the Democrat Party needed assurance that all would vote for the other infrastructure bill.
Moderates pledged to vote for the Build Back Better Act once they receive a Congressional Budget Office (CBO score,” no later than the week of November 15:”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), said in a statement that they would vote to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the rule for the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act as part of the agreement.
Former President Trump stated the vote, stating the progressives are “being lied to and played” by moderate Democrats.
“So interesting to watch the so-called Democrat “Progressives” being lied to and played by the Democrat Moderates,” Trump said. “It used to be the other way around. Let’s see if the Progressives fold, and how long it will take them to do so?”
The Senate passed the infrastructure bill with 19 Senate Republicans; however, Senate conservatives strongly opposed it.
In August, Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) said, Republicans, are “complicit” by supporting the bipartisan bill, as it would lead to the passage of the Democrats’ Build Back Better Act.
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) frequently rallied Republicans against supporting the bipartisan bill.
Since August, Banks has noted that the bill would not fund infrastructure, while it adds to the debt and is rotten with leftist carveouts:
It was revealed the bill would add $256 billion to the deficit by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Penn-Warton Budget Model said the bill would not add a “significant” level of economic growth.
The bipartisan infrastructure would also advance leftist priorities by:
- Defines “gender identity” as a protected class.
- Doles out “digital equity” grants partly based on racial or ethnic minority status.
- State-mandated carbon reduction program
- Contains funding for “zero-emission vehicles”
- Addresses “over-the-road bus tolling equity”
- Contains the word “equity” 64 times
- Provides roughly $2.5 billion to help the U.S. government expand the border processing stations used by migrants from poor Central American nations and other regions around the world.
The infrastructure bill does not include any sizable victories for conservatives.
A review of the potential impact of revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline is called for in the legislation. However, it does not restore the job-creating project. There are billions of dollars for border crossers and zero dollars for a border wall.
The bill moves to President Biden’s desk for his signature.