WASHINGTON (AP) —
By LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING and ALAN FRAM WASHINGTON (AP) — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted Wednesday night to start work on a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure package after President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators reached agreement on the key part of the White House agenda. The outcome after weeks of negotiations showed the interest among senators in starting the process. But it’s unclear if enough senators will eventually support final passage of the package, which includes $550 billion in new public works spending. Wednesday’s procedural vote starts a potentially days-long debate. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators reached agreement Wednesday on a $1 trillion national infrastructure package, and the Senate appeared ready to begin consideration of the key part of the administration’s agenda. An evening test vote was possible. Biden welcomed the accord as one that would show America can “do big things” — with the most significant long-term investments in nearly a century, he said, on par with building the transcontinental railroad or the Interstate highway system. “This deal signals to the world that our democracy can function,” Biden said in a statement. “We will once again transform America and propel us into the future.” Lead GOP negotiator Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio announced the deal earlier at the Capitol, flanked by four other Republican senators who have been in talks with Democrats and the White House on the bipartisan package. “We now have an agreement on the major issues,” Portman said. “We are prepared to move forward.” Still, the agreement only pushes the package toward consideration by the full Senate. It’s unclear if enough Republican senators will support passage, and many of them raised questions during a private lunch Wednesday. Senators were given a thick binder of briefing materials but wanted more details. For days, senators in a bipartisan group have worked with the White House to salvage the deal, a first part of Biden’s big infrastructure agenda. Swelling to more than 700 pages, the bill includes $550 billion in new spending on public works projects. According to a 57-page GOP summary obtained by The Associated Press, the five-year spending package would be paid for by tapping $205 billion in unspent COVID-19 relief aid and $53 billion in unemployment insurance aid some states have halted. It also relies on economic growth to bring in $56 billion.
