17 Republican Senators voted with Democrats on Wednesday to advance the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
The story: The Senate voted 67-32 to approve the procedural motion and legislative action. The vote came after weeks of negotiations between a bipartisan group of lawmakers and the White House.
This is the second time that the Senate voted to invoke cloture as the first attempt failed after all Republicans voted against the bill.
Who voted with Democrats? The 17 Republicans who voted to advance the legislation include:
- Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
- Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
- Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
- Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
- Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND)
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
- Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
- Sen. James Risch (R-ID)
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
- Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)
Before the vote took place, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) announced that they have reached an agreement on major issues in the bill. However, parts of the legislation remain unwritten.
“We are prepared to move forward,” Portman told reporters.
The vote means that Senators can now continue to work to resolve the outstanding issues.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who was leading negotiations for Democrats, told reporters on Capitol Hill that “we are very excited to have a deal.” She also said that she has spoken to President Joe Biden about the legislation.
Biden said he was “feeling confident” about it.
“While there’s a lot we don’t agree on, I believe that we should be able to work together on the few things we do agree on,” the president said in an address in Pennsylvania.
The deal, as it stands, is expected to cost $1.2 trillion over eight years. It includes more than $550 billion in new spending, including $73 billion for the electric grid and power structures, $110 billion in new funds for roads, bridges, and major projects, $65 billion for broadband, $50 billion for flooding, and coastal resiliency, and $55 billion for clean drinking water.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to correct an error. Ted Young is a senator for Indiana.
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