Skip to main content

Unbiased. Straight Facts.

Politics

Harris touts benefits of new infrastructure deal. What’s in it?

Jul 29, 2021

Share

Vice President Kamala Harris held a virtual conference to talk about the benefits of the new bipartisan infrastructure deal with small business owners in South Carolina Thursday. This comes a day after the Senate voted to begin debate on the deal.

The video above shows clips from Harris’ Thursday conference.

“Our infrastructure as a nation needs an upgrade and the bipartisan infrastructure deal for that reason is, we believe, historic because it will make a once in a generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure, positioning our small businesses to compete in the 21st century,” Harris said.

According to a White House fact sheet, the deal includes:

  • $110 billion for roads and bridges, including the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the Interstate highway system ($40 billion).
  • $39 billion for public transit. That’s about $10 billion less than senators had originally designated.
  • $66 billion for passenger and freight rail. The money would be used to reduce Amtrak’s maintenance backlog and improve its 457-mile-long Northeast Corridor as well as other routes.
  • $65 billion to expand broadband access. Most of the money would be made available through grants to states.
  • $73 billion for modernizing the nation’s electric grid and expanding the use of renewable energy.

After weeks of negotiations, Wednesday’s vote was shockingly bipartisan, at 67-32.

“It’s a point of pride that it was a bipartisan deal,” Harris said. “I don’t need to tell you all small businesses the, the contribution they make to communities and the challenges they face really don’t have much to do with who they voted for in the last election or will in the next election.”

It’s unclear if enough Republicans will eventually join Democrats to support final passage. Senate rules require 60 votes to pass any bill this infrastructure debate may lead to. With a 50-50 split in the Senate, any bill would need bipartisan support.

The outcome will set the stage for the next debate over President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending package. Republicans strongly oppose the package. However, this one would only require a simple majority to pass.

Tags:

Kamala Harris, U.S. Vice President: “I strongly believe that when someone starts a small business, it is a true act of self-determination. A small business owner must have a vision and through hard work and support, realize that vision, which, of course, helps determine not only their future but the future of their community.”

“Small businesses keep our nation competitive. You know, the president and I spent a lot of time thinking about our relationship with our allies and and even our adversaries around the world. And one of the great points of emphasis for us is that we must remain competitive. Well, you are a big part of the formula for how we will do that.”

“In fact, we learned today in the first half of this year, our economy has grown at the fastest rate in nearly 40 years. That’s a good sign. And to build on this growth, our administration recognizes that small business owners need more than just relief. They need more than only relief. They need more than relief. And in particular, an area that I focused on, as the administrator has said, is on what small businesses need also in terms of access to capital.”

“So yesterday, the Senate voted to advance a bipartisan infrastructure deal and 67 senators voted in favor of moving the deal forward. Republican senators and Democratic senators and the bipartisan infrastructure deal will improve the lives of people in our country and the strength of our small businesses.”

“It’s a point of pride that it was a bipartisan deal, because I don’t need to tell you all small businesses the, the contribution they make to communities and the challenges they face really don’t have much to do with who they voted for in the last election or will in the next election has to do with what they need to do on the ground every day to actually be successful and add value to their communities.”

“So our infrastructure as a nation needs an upgrade and the bipartisan infrastructure deal for that reason is, we believe, historic because it will make a once in a generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure, positioning our small businesses to compete in the 21st century.”