The House has voted 220 to 212 to consider the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) no later than Sept. 27. The plan emerged last month as a compromise between moderate Democrats, who wanted an immediate vote on the IIJA, and progressive Democrats, who wanted the IIJA vote to take place after the Senate completed action on a separate, $3.5 trillion antipoverty and climate package.
As the House returned to Washington this week, their agenda bogged them down. With neither party coming to agreements on several issues, Congress is charging toward a government shutdown and debt default and appears to have no backup plan roughly a week before federal agencies would have to close their doors.
Progressive Democratic members say they will not vote for the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill without passing the $3.5 trillion package that is aimed at enacting President Joe Biden's economic agenda.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) committed to the September 27th deadline to vote on the $550 billion infrastructure bill and released a statement affirming, “in consultation with the Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am committing to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by Sept. 27. I do so with a commitment to rally House Democratic support for its passage.”
Why it matters: If the IIJA passes the House, it would allow President Joe Biden to sign it into law before the federal highway and public transportation programs, like the Highway Trust Fund, expire Sept. 30.
Keep Pressuring a Vote
As all eyes remain on the U.S. House of Representatives to complete action on the historic passage of the IIJA, please communicate with your Representatives and urge support for IIJA. The bipartisan legislation includes the five-year reauthorization of the Federal-Aid Highway Program with a level of investment that is needed to improve the performance of the nation’s highway, road and bridge network.
In addition to predictable funding for paving projects, the National Asphalt Pavement Association says that the bill successfully advances several of their priorities, including the reauthorization of the Accelerated Implementation and Deployment of Pavement Technologies (AID-PT) program valued at $30 million; increased federal contributions to safety contingency funds to improve work zone safety using innovative contracting methods; and the absence of pavement type selection mandates, maintaining neutrality on highway pavement materials issues
The legislation also includes an exemption under Buy America to allow for the continued use of imported high-quality asphalt binder and aggregate in asphalt pavement production.
Contact your U.S. House of Representatives TODAY to urge support on all procedural votes and final passage of the bipartisan infrastructure agreement when it reaches the House floor this fall.
