Congress Eyes Infrastructure Vote this Week

With the unravelling of the planned infrastructure vote in late September, Congress has passed a short-term extension of federal highway programs, which now expires on October 31. The infrastructure package, which has been passed by the Senate and is awaiting a vote in the House, has been immobilized by the inability of Democrats – House, Senate and White House – to agree on a framework for the social spending plan they are pursuing through reconciliation. Speaker Pelosi has indicated that Democrats are “pretty much there” and Sen. Manchin has expressed hopes that an agreement on the framework could be reached this week.

The president is anxious to see progress on both the Build Back Better reconciliation package and the infrastructure package before he leaves the country for a climate summit in Scotland. The unexpectedly tight Virginia governor’s race is putting additional political pressure on the administration and Congressional leadership to show that Democrats can deliver on key components of President Biden’s agenda.

NRMCA and our coalition partners continue to advocate with key Members of Congress and staff, coordinating our efforts and collaborating to leverage relationships and district presence. As part of this effort, the coalition, lead by the US Chamber of Commerce and the Transportation Construction Coalition, released a new digital ad this week underscoring the importance of the infrastructure investment. The ad comes on the heels of radio ads released last week targeting key Congressional districts and urging support for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.