Weeks of negotiations between Democratic and Republican Senators and the White House have resulted in the release of a $550 billion legislative package focused on physical infrastructure projects and programs. The 2,702-page bill was submitted to the Senate late on Sunday night, and a summary fact sheet was published by the White House last week.

The package includes about $110 billion in new spending for roads and bridges, $73 billion of power grid upgrades, $66 billion for rail and Amtrak, and $65 billion for broadband expansion. It also provides $55 billion for clean drinking water and $39 billion for transit.

The package will essentially be paid for by pulling surplus and leftover funds from elsewhere within the federal budget, as Democrats were unwilling to cut spending for existing programs and Republicans opposed raising taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans.

This bipartisan package is separate from President Biden’s “human infrastructure” package, which would include the likes of paid leave, childcare, labor reform, climate change, and Medicare expansion policies. The human infrastructure package is expected to be advanced solely by Democrats through budget reconciliation once the Senate’s physical infrastructure package is passed. However, the prospects for a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation to receive 50 votes in the Senate are still uncertain.

If the budget reconciliation process fails, it could significantly jeopardize the chances of the physical infrastructure bill ultimately being enacted into law. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has already said she wouldn’t bring the bipartisan infrastructure bill to the floor until the Senate acts on the follow-on Democratic budget package.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has voiced its support for the physical infrastructure package’s framework. 

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