Political dysfunction remains a step ahead of making progress on an infrastructure bill

It is really hard to act surprised that political dysfunction, yet, once again, has pushed what was viewed as strong momentum for new national infrastructure bill off the tracks. The reasons for it are things we have all seen before, way too often, so the time for being caught off guard is again over.

And that is what makes things frustrating. Consider the fact that in early August a $1 trillion infrastructure deal passed the Senate by a 69-30 vote. As previously reported, that included 19 Republicans in favor, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. What’s more, it came after centrist senators in both parties and the White House reached a long-sought compromise on the bill and was on its way to the House where it was expected to pass and be signed into law after Labor Day.

This is where things got, um, congested, or stalled out, in terms of next steps for the bill. The wishful thinking for the House vote on what was initially viewed by many as something that would get the needed votes to make it to President Biden’s desk to be signed is now sidelined, due to, once again, good old political dysfunction.

That was seen last week, when a group of 90 or so Democratic members of the Progressive Caucus led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., joined many Republican House members in a late push to derail what had been bipartisan support for the $1 trillion bill. This stood counter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s notion that the infrastructure bill would be approved by last Thursday, September 30, but that vote was punted, with progressives wanting certainty that any bill being signed off on would also include targeted efforts on items they have long been clamoring for, including: climate policy, household tax credits, and healthcare expansion, in what was widely termed as a “human infrastructure” bill, which initially had a $3.5 trillion price tag.

So, now we are left where we were before, holding the bag and wondering what will happen next. Any chance, or hope, or having a clean and separate infrastructure bill appears to be on the shelf until Congress can get its act together. Wishful thinking? It sure seems like it,

Not to mention that September 30 marked the end of the fiscal year and the House had to ink a 30-day extension to keep highway and surface transportation funding intact, in order to prevent an expiration of funding, for the current authorization, the FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act.

So, basically, things have gone from being really hopeful and optimistic over the prospects of a new long-term infrastructure bill that is long overdue, (considering the U.S. getting a C-, for the condition of our infrastructure, according to a report from the American Society for Civil Engineers) to a 30-day extension, due to political infighting and, again, dysfunction.

Needless to say, a whole host of industry organizations are less than please with the current state of affairs, as they relate to the state of infrastructure.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley said the following about the House’s inability to vote on the infrastructure vote: “There is no bigger supporter of a bipartisan infrastructure bill than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Respectfully, the president is wrong. This bill should have been enacted six years ago. There was a chance to enact it six weeks ago. Delay has consequences and none of them are good for the American people. We urge the House of Representatives to pass the infrastructure bill as soon as possible.”    

And Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, put it this way: “While AASHTO appreciates addressing the lapse in federal highway, transit and highway safety programs caused by the failure to pass the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, short-term extensions are not a suitable way to govern. This particular extension doesn’t include any new funding for state departments of transportation until October 15, leaving them without support from their federal partners for weeks while they continue the work of moving people and goods through our communities. AASHTO remains focused on the passage of a long-term surface transportation bill to ensure the delivery of a safe and efficient multimodal transportation system and we urge that Congress do the same.”

There are more comments like this, but haven’t we seen enough inactivity, at this point? What once seemed like a really positive outlook has, again, turned into something far murkier and more uncertain. Sadly, it comes as a surprise to nobody and why would it? What happens next is anyone’s guess. Stay tuned.