If you’re finding it difficult to understand all of the machinations Congress is going through right now, you are not alone. The Wonk has spent over forty years watching Congress—and I am finding it tough to follow.

Today’s Wonk will give you a bird’s eye view of the status of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (which invests in roads, bridges, ports, airports and faster Internet). I’ll also talk about the Build Back Better Act (which deals with social infrastructure such as in-home services for the elderly and persons with disabilities, universal prekindergarten, Family Medical Leave, prescription drug services, etc.) 

Very late Friday night November 5th —the House passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. According to CNBC, The House passed a more than $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The legislation would put $550 billion in new funding into transportation, broadband and utilities.” (You can find many of the details about the Infrastructure bill on Investopedia “Understanding the Infrastructure Bills”. Also, Wikipedia’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act have an extensive legislative history.) The final bill passed by a vote of 228 to 206, with thirteen Republicans voting for the measure. This sent the measure to the White House for the President’s signatures. (Please note: the Senate passed its version of the Infrastructure bill in mid-April.)  

Prior to the middle of last week, the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was tied to a separate bill referred to as the Build Back Better Act which includes $1.75 trillion of social infrastructure funding, plus an additional $100 billion in immigration spending, contingent upon an affirmative ruling by the Senate parliamentarian. This would bring the total to $1.85 trillion. Some in the Senate—most notably Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.VA.) and Senator Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) felt that the bill would simply cost too much. Conversely, a cadre of progressive members in the House did not trust their Senate colleagues to ‘do the right thing’. Finally, on October 28th, several so-called progressive members of the House relented and agreed to allow a separate vote on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The Build Back Better Act is still in legislative limbo. Thanks to the last-minute agreement, House members agreed to bring the Build Back Better Act to a vote provided the CBO showed that the plan would not add to the budget deficit. The CBO score will be available the week of November 15th. (See Investopedia). A vote will happen soon after Congress receives the CBO score.

These two bills are very complex! Two other important pieces of legislation: The current Continuing resolution—which keeps the Federal government up and running—expires on December 3rd. Additionally, the Debt Ceiling also expires on December 3rd!!

Golly-gee; we have one of the most extensive human services programs coming up for a vote, the funding of the entire Federal government and the debt ceiling all coming up. What could possibly go wrong?

For the next several weeks, the Wednesday Wonk will discuss these pieces of legislation and try to help you make sense of any new developments. If you have any questions—please write me or visit my website at: www.kathyroyjohnson.com 

Until next time, Happy Reading!