Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
President Joe Biden will sign the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law on Monday during a ceremony at the White House that will include members of Congress who supported the legislation. A bipartisan group of governors and mayors, as well as labor union and business leaders, will also join the President at the ceremony.
The bill, officially known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provides hundreds of billions of dollars to improve the nation’s highways, bridges and roads; passenger rail; public transit; broadband access; and the power grid, among other investments in physical infrastructure.
The White House has cited outside economists to argue it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next decade.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 228-206 with 13 Republicans crossing the aisle to vote with the Democrats, and six Democrats voting no – all members of The Squad.
Here are the six House Democrats who broke from their party to vote against the bill:
- Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York
- Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
- Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
- Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts
- Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan
Here are the thirteen Republicans in the House voted with Democrats to approve the bill:
- Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska
- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
- Rep. Andrew Gabarino of New York
- Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
- Rep. John Katko of New York
- Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
- Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York
- Rep. David McKinley of West Virginia
- Rep. Tom Reed of New York
- Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey
- Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan
- Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey
- Rep. Don Young of Alaska
Michael Best Strategies’ detailed sector-by-sector overview of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), including key provisions and revenue sources, can be found here. Below, we have added a “Quick Links” section that includes links to the relevant documents (bill text, committee reports, official summaries, one-pager, and JCT analysis).
Build Back Better Act (“BBBA”)
While President Biden will sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill on Monday, securing a major legislative victory, his larger economic and social spending packages still remains a subject of concern as members of Congress review its provisions.
At the insistence of the moderate House Democratic members, House passage of the measure was delayed until the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) completes its score of the revised measure, and the moderates are assured that the cost of the measure does not exceed the White House’s $1.9 trillion estimated cost of the bill. The CBO is now in the process of releasing the estimates for individual titles of the bill, but it is not clear when the “official scorekeeper” – i.e, CBO – will be able to complete its entire analysis. It remains to be seen whether the CBO’s estimates add up to more than $1.9 trillion. If not, the bill might need to be revised, redrafted, and rescored again in order to pass the House of Representatives. It is important to remember that Speaker Pelosi has a razor-thin, three-vote margin, so she needs nearly every House Democrat to support the bill.
Should passage in the House occur, we expect it to be right before Thanksgiving.
If and when the bill does pass the House, it will be sent to the Senate where it is expected to be revised substantially, including getting reduced in both size and scope. If and when the Senate is able to pass a bill, it will need to get sent back to the House where the Senate-revised bill will need to be voted upon and passed.
As a result, Congress might well be working right up until Santa is about to leave on his sleigh – Bah Humbug!
Below are Quick Links to all of the latest documents. As events unfold, the Michael Best Strategies DC team will keep you informed and up-to-date. Stay tuned….
