Pelosi Sets Thursday Vote On Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

The House will vote Thursday on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, pushing back an originally planned vote for Monday that Democratic moderates had demanded as part of a deal with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Lawmakers will still debate the bill on the House floor on Monday, but the actual vote will be pushed to Sept. 30, when some surface transportation programs are set to expire, Pelosi announced in a Sunday night missive to Democrats. 

The vote is only part of what’s set to be a jam-packed week in the House. In addition to the vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, Democrats are also aiming to take action on the $3.5 trillion package to expand social safety net programs, act to prevent a government shutdown on Oct. 1 and avoid a debt default.

“This week is a week of opportunity, as we work to keep government open, conclude negotiations on the Build Back Better Act and advance the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework,” Pelosi wrote. 

A group of Democratic centrists had previously secured an agreement with Pelosi that the House would vote by Sept. 27 on the bipartisan infrastructure bill to send it to President Biden for his signature. 

But House progressives have long maintained that they wouldn’t vote to pass the bipartisan bill before their priorities are addressed in the larger social spending package, which includes provisions like paid family leave, universal pre-K, free community college and initiatives to address climate change.

Read the full article from The Hill here.