WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans were able to block the bipartisan infrastructure bill from moving forward on Wednesday.
The bill failed to receive the 60 votes necessary to move through the Senate filibuster in order to open debate on it. Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) has not said publicly if he clearly supports or is against the measure, but he said Republicans blocked it because the bill doesn’t have a hard, written copy yet.
The vote was 51-49.
“I come from being a main street entrepreneur where we plan things ahead, we budget, we know how we are going to pay for something,” Braun told Fox Business. “Chuck Schumer is like a political entrepreneur that’s not doing any of that and is using creative financing on the run which is basically borrowing money from our kids and grandkids.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) changed his vote to help defeat the measure which allows him to bring it back up for a vote to open debate again in the future. He said Wednesday that bipartisan negotiators are “close to finalizing their product” and that Republican senators “should feel comfortable voting to move forward today.” As the vote indicates that is not the case.
The group of 22 bipartisan senators working out the details of the bill issued a statement after the vote.
“We have made significant progress and are close to a final agreement,” the statement said. “We will continue working hard to ensure we get this critical legislation right – and are optimistic that we will finalize, and be prepared to advance, this historic bipartisan proposal.”
Braun feels that the whole process is turning into a political circus. Especially with the $3.5 trillion bill waiting in tow that addresses what Democrats call “human infrastructure.”
“They’re going to ram it through and I think (Democrats) are going to pay the political consequences for that. Especially in 2022,” Braun said. “They’re starting to fishtail on how to pay for it.”
It’s not clear when the bipartisan measure will be brought back to the Senate floor for a vote to start debate. Both sides are hopeful that a deal can be done soon.
