WASHINGTON — The Senate cleared a key procedural hurdle on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, pushing final passage Monday or sooner.
The Senate voted 67 to 27 on a motion to invoke cloture, which ends debate on the massive bill and allows for a final vote by the Senate in the coming days.
The Senate has been voting this week on a series of amendments to the legislation, which would invest heavily in the country's roads and highways, public transit, water systems and broadband.
"There are many outstanding amendments that are important that would improve this legislation, and that deserve votes before the Senate is asked to vote on final passage of this bill," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Saturday.
The proposal includes $550 billion in new spending to build roads, public transit and other priorities of President Joe Biden, which would inject a windfall of money into a series of transportation projects that have long enjoyed support from both parties.
On Saturday, Vice President Kamala Harris separately met with Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Tom Carper, D-Del., according to a White House official.
During her conversations, the vice president discussed the bipartisan infrastructure bill and applauded efforts to pass this historic legislation. She also discussed the importance of Congress passing voting rights legislation, said the official.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has repeatedly said the Senate will stay in session and cut into the August recess — which is scheduled to begin this weekend — to complete passage of the infrastructure bill and a budget resolution, which precedes work on that separate, multitrillion-dollar bill.
"It’s up to my Republican colleagues how long it takes," said Schumer on Saturday.
