US Senate votes to advance bipartisan infrastructure bill

WASHINGTON: The US Senate has voted to proceed with a bipartisan infrastructure deal, clearing the first hurdle towards adopting a long-awaited and hotly debated spending package. In a key procedural vote on Wednesday night, senators voted 67-32 to push the bill forward, meeting the 60-vote threshold, reports Xinhua news agency. All 50 Democrats and 17 Republicans voted in favour.

The vote starts the process to debate and amend the proposal, and the final version still needs approval from both chambers.

The vote came just a few hours after Senator Rob Portman from Ohio, the top Republican negotiator, told reporters that a bipartisan group of senators had reached an agreement on the major issues of the infrastructure plan. The agreement was reached after months of strenuous negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans.

Last month, President Joe Biden had announced that he reached a deal with a bipartisan group of senators on a roughly $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan.

Over the past few weeks, senators have been trying to nail down details of the infrastructure package. About a week ago, Senate Republicans blocked a procedural vote to advance the infrastructure bill, calling for more time to negotiate the bill and finalise the details.

The bill includes $550 billion in new spending on infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, passenger rails, drinking water and waste water systems. The rest of the package involves previously approved spending. (IANS)

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