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US Senate voted a $1.2 trillion package to rebuild the nation’s fragile infrastructure. The move came after months of negotiations between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators. The measure passed with 67-32 votes. It includes $550 billion in new funding for roads, water, transit, rail, bridges, and other typical infrastructure programs. The legislation will be paid for by repurposing unspent coronavirus relief funds along with recovering fraudulently paid unemployment money. The measure will use unemployment money returned by states that prematurely ended a federal $300-a-week benefit. The agreement is trimmed slightly in new funding from the $579 billion initially announced at the end of June. The funding measures are also different after GOP legislators discarded a push to enhance revenue for the IRS to crack down on tax cheats.

The new agreement came after the separation between two sides over the allocation of money for projects like public transit. It includes $1 billion to demolish or reconstruct infrastructure that divided communities and $5 billion for zero or low-emission busses. The package will provide $7.5 billion for electric vehicle infrastructure, $11 billion for transportation safety, and $17 billion for ports. It also gives $21 billion for environmental remediation, $25 billion for airports, and $39 billion for public transit. The funding includes $55 billion for clean drinking water and $65 billion to expand broadband access. It will also provide $66 billion for passenger and freight rail. The package includes massive funding of $73 billion for power infrastructure and $110 billion for roads.

Schumer urged he needs to pass the bipartisan package including the blueprint for a $3.5 trillion budget plan. Point to be noted that the Senate August recess is scheduled to begin in two weeks. Last week, the New York Democrat held a procedural vote to begin debate on the unfinished infrastructure proposal. But all 50 Republicans voted against it and said they needed to see the finalized legislation first. However, GOP legislators suggested after meeting with Mitch McConnell that they would the proposal advance the second time around. President Biden has pushed for a bipartisan compromise on infrastructure for months. But he insisted he needs to follow it with a sweeping, multitrillion-dollar package. The larger package would invest billions in an array of planned health, education, environmental and social programs.