The U.S. Senate is poised to pass an “infrastructure” bill supported by Democrats and some Republicans.
On Sunday, the Senate voted 68-29 to end debate on H.R. 3684, titled the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.” Eighteen Republicans joined every Democrat in voting for the bill. This vote clears the way for a final vote on H.R. 3684, likely late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
H.R. 3684, which would spend a total of $1.2 trillion, is over 2,700 pages long. Despite being labeled an “infrastructure” bill, only nine percent of the bill’s spending would go toward actual infrastructure.
Despite senators’ promises that H.R. 3684 will not add to the national debt, multiple studies have shown otherwise. For example, the Congressional Budget Office reported the bill will add $256 billion to the deficit while the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found it will add $340 billion. Furthermore, the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn-Wharton Budget Model found that not only will H.R. 3684 add $351 billion to the deficit, but it will have “have no significant [economic] impact.”
What’s In the “Bipartisan” Bill?
Despite being touted as a bipartisan and “moderate” bill, H.R. 3684 includes the following radical provisions:
- mandates that states create carbon reduction programs, with the federal government choosing which plans to accept or reject;
- creates a pilot program for a mileage tax, which tracks how many miles individuals drive, something that would infringe on Americans’ privacy, penalize drivers in low-density areas, and make driving too costly for some Americans;
- requires car companies to equip all vehicles with “advanced alcohol monitoring systems“;
- allows the federal government to bypass “Buy American” rules, promoting outsourcing to countries such as Communist China;
- enables mass migration by funding border crossings and migrant “welcome centers” while including $0 for border wall construction;
- defines “gender identity” as a protected class;
- enacts racial quotas for broadband spending;
- rewards states that support and facilitate illegal migration to the United States, also for broadband spending;
- ends Amtrak’s policies/goals of creating a profit and seeking to minimize costs;
- includes multiple radical climate change-provisions, including over $50 billion to protect against “climate change” and $21 billion for “environmental remediation.” Additionally, H.R. 3684 will “modernize” the power grid to accommodate “green” energy; and
- among other provisions, the bipartisan bill includes $39 billion for public transportation, $15 billion altogether for electric transportation, $65 billion for broadband, a $30 billion cryptocurrency tax.
In their rush to pass H.R. 3684, Senate Democrats blocked the consideration of over 20 bipartisan amendments, some of which would have marginally improved the bill.
Former President Donald Trump criticized the above $1.2 trillion “bipartisan” bill — along with the even more extremist $3.5 trillion “reconciliation” bill — and the Republicans supporting it. Trump noted that “Infrastructure is just a ‘carrot’ for a massive socialist expansion,” and in a later statement, he urged senators to “think twice before you approve this terrible deal.” Based on the bill’s provisions, Trump is right.
Next Up: $3.5 Trillion “Reconciliation” Bill
Passage of the bipartisan H.R. 3684 will not end the “infrastructure” saga. On Monday, Senate Democrats released a draft of the second phase of their plan. Unlike the first phase, this proposal is partisan and, thus, significantly more extremist. Despite being advertised as being $3.5 trillion, the partisan “reconciliation” bill could actually cost up to $5.5 trillion.
Passage of the bipartisan bill increases the likelihood of the $3.5 trillion second-phase bill passing. Unlike H.R. 3684, Senate Democrats plan to pass it through the “reconciliation” process which only needs a simple majority, thus bypassing the filibuster. Accordingly, the Left is attempting to cram as many of their extremist proposals as possible.
Among numerous other extremist proposals in this proposal, Democrats are seeking to pass a mass amnesty of up to 10 million illegal aliens, multiple radical climate-change measures, and a major expansion in social programs.
It is not an exaggeration to state that the future of the United States, and liberty itself, is at stake with these two “infrastructure” bills.
To urge your U.S. representative and senators to reject both the bipartisan H.R. 3684 and the partisan $3.5 trillion “infrastructure” bills, visit The John Birch Society’s legislative alert here.
