Late in the evening on Friday, November 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill described as “transformative” by supporters and “a trap” by politicians suspicious of the considerable spending numbers involved.
The bill passed the Senate in August and now heads to President Biden for his signature. Biden has said that he will sign the bill but has not set a time.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said the massive spending bill is little more than a trap, even evoking a classic Star Wars character in a press release issued on Friday ahead of the final vote.
Cruz said that added together with the as-yet-passed reconciliation bill, Democrats are looking to spend a total of $9.5 trillion in the last seven months.
In particular, Cruz contended that the bill is being sold to taxpayers as a “roads and bridges” bill to repair crumbling and vital infrastructure; however, only a small fraction of the spending goes to roads and highways.
“It’s not Monopoly money. It’s not make-believe money. It’s taxpayer dollars. And it’s money we’re borrowing from China and debt that we’re putting on our kids and grandkids,” Cruz wrote. “And the roads and bridges part of this bill, in the context of the larger spending free for all in Washington, is about 1/86 the explosive spending going on.”
The bill provides massive funding for commuter rail and public transportation investments, significant expenditure for electric vehicle recharging stations, and expansion of broadband access.
On Friday, thirteen Republicans joined all but six Democrats to pass the bill. The six Democrats voting against the bill did so to show displeasure with the decision to de-link the bill from the larger Social Spending bill due to be voted on no later than Nov. 15.
U.S. House of Representatives member Colin Allred (D-TX) represents the 32nd District which includes much of North Dallas. In a press release on Nov. 6th, Allred said the bill “is a necessity.”
“Whether it is repairing our roads and bridges, building out a historic network to charge electric vehicles, or investing in public transit like DART — everything in this package will work to create jobs, reduce congestion and grow our economy,” Allred said in his statement on the passage of the bill. “I look forward to working closely with local leaders to ensure that North Texas is able to put these funds to work quickly.”
Allred points to the potential “creation” of 650,000 jobs, $26.9 billion for roads, and $537 million for bridge repair, and the expansions of broadband, electric vehicle charging, and port capacity as reasons for supporting the bill. As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Allred has been instrumental in crafting the act.
Allred has stated that he supports the reconciliation bill that will be heard later this month. That bill has received intense backlash from Republicans and some moderate Democrats for the tremendous cost that is expected to be around $3.5 trillion.