[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 126 (Monday, July 19, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4945-S4946]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Infrastructure

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, for the past several months, both 
Democrats and Republicans have been hard at work putting together two 
major infrastructure bills to meet the challenges of the 21st century. 
We have proceeded along two tracks. The first track is a bipartisan 
infrastructure framework that has been agreed to by a group of 
Democrats and Republican Senators and the White House. The second track 
is a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions that will allow 
the Senate to take up the American Jobs and Families Plan and make 
historic investments in jobs, family support policies, and initiatives 
to fight climate change. This week, the Senate aims to make even more 
progress on these tracks.
  Tonight, in a few minutes, I will file cloture on a shell bill, which 
will act as a legislative vehicle for the bipartisan infrastructure 
framework. That vote on cloture will take place on Wednesday. Again, 
that vote on Wednesday will be a vote on cloture simply to the motion 
to proceed to a debate on a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
  I want to be clear about what these steps mean. There has been some 
confusion. What we are talking about this week is a vote on whether to 
proceed to debate on the bipartisan infrastructure framework. The 
motion to proceed on Wednesday is simply about getting the legislative 
process started here on the Senate floor; it is not a deadline to 
determine every final detail of the bill. All a ``yes'' vote on the 
motion to proceed simply means is that the Senate is ready to begin 
debating and amending a bipartisan infrastructure bill; no more, no 
less.
  It is important to remember that even after the Wednesday cloture 
vote, there are up to 30 hours of debate before we can adopt the motion 
to proceed and offer amendments.
  So let me be very clear about what I am committing to the Senate as 
majority leader. If the bipartisan group of Senators reaches a final 
agreement on legislative text by Thursday, I will make that agreement 
the pending substitute amendment for debate once the motion to proceed 
is adopted. If for some reason the group does not finalize the 
legislative text to the agreement in time for Thursday, then I will 
offer an amendment consisting only of the elements of the bill that 
have already been put through committee on a bipartisan process. This 
will allow this Senate to begin debate and amendments on the bipartisan 
base bill, which has four main components:
  First, the Environment and Public Works Committee report of the water 
bill. This bill passed by a voice vote in committee and then 89 to 2 on 
the Senate floor.
  Second, the Environment and Public Works Committee report of the 
highway bill. This passed by 20 to nothing.
  Third, the Commerce Committee report on the rail and safety bill. 
This bill passed by 25 to 3.
  Fourth, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee report of the 
Energy bill. This passed 13 to 7.
  Again, if the text of the bipartisan deal is ready on Thursday, I 
will offer it as the first substitute amendment. If for some reason it 
is not, I will offer an amendment that consists only of the elements of 
the bill that have gone through committee with substantial bipartisan 
support, the four pieces that I mentioned just a second ago.
  Now, I have spoken with the five leading Democratic negotiators: 
Senators Sinema, Warner, Tester, Shaheen, and Manchin. They support 
this approach.
  I would remind my colleagues, moving to proceed to a legislative 
vehicle, a shell bill, for bipartisan legislation, even while the 
negotiators finalize the text of that legislation, is a routine process 
in this Chamber. We have done it repeatedly. It is a sign of good faith 
from both sides that negotiations will continue in earnest and both 
sides are committed to reaching an outcome.
  Earlier this year, the Senate moved forward on a vehicle--a 
legislative vehicle--for what became the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. In 
fact, we went through the same process when the Senate moved to proceed 
to the legislative vehicle for what ultimately became the United States 
Innovation and Competition Act. In that legislation, our Senate 
committees were working on various bills that all had to do with 
American innovation and competition.
  The Commerce Committee reported out the Endless Frontier Act. The 
Foreign Relations Committee reported out the Strategic Competition Act. 
And the Homeland Security Committee reported out additional pieces of 
legislation. We put them together once we voted to proceed to debate on 
the topic. The same thing--the very same thing is happening on the 
bipartisan infrastructure bill.
  I understand that both sides are working very hard to turn the 
bipartisan infrastructure framework into final legislation, and they 
will continue to have more time to debate, amend, and perfect the bill 
once the Senate votes to take up this crucial issue.

[[Page S4946]]

  But they have been working on this bipartisan framework for more than 
a month already, and it is time to begin the debate. We must make 
significant progress on both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the 
budget resolution before the end of the work period. There is no reason 
we can't get the ball rolling this week on both elements of the 
Senate's infrastructure agenda.