[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 129 (Thursday, July 22, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S5027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             INFRASTRUCTURE

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, last night, the Senate took a vote on 
whether to proceed to a debate on infrastructure. Unfortunately, our 
Republican colleagues blocked the Senate from taking this first 
entirely procedural step.
  I understand that the effort to finish the text of the bipartisan 
bill has progressed since I announced this vote last week. The 
negotiators have made significant progress, but there are still some 
outstanding issues. Therefore, at the end of the vote yesterday, I 
changed my response to a no so that I may move to reconsider the vote 
at a future time.
  My colleagues on both sides of the aisle should be assured, as 
majority leader, I have every intention of passing both major 
infrastructure packages, the bipartisan infrastructure framework and a 
budget resolution with reconciliation instructions, before we leave for 
the August recess. I laid out that precise schedule at the end of June, 
and I intend to stick with it.
  A new report by the chief economist at Moody's, Mark Zandi, hardly a 
liberal economist, someone who actually served as an economic adviser 
to Senator McCain, concluded that both major infrastructure proposals 
are essential to maximize our economic potential--not just one, both. 
And, together, they would give a massive boost to the economy, ease 
inflation pressures, create jobs, increase productivity, and reduce 
income inequality.
  These are incredibly worthy goals, and the Senate is going to keep 
working on both tracks of infrastructure in order to achieve them.

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