House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set a new deadline of October 31 for Congress to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package.
Pelosi told Democratic colleagues “it’s about time!” to pass the legislation, after a scheduled vote on Thursday was called off when it became clear progressives in the party weren’t going to allow the bill to pass.
Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues she hopes the infrastructure bill will be passed “well before” the October 31 deadline for highway funding.
Democratic leadership was determined to have a vote on the infrastructure package late in the week, but it was called off after progressive Democrats made clear they wouldn’t vote for the infrastructure bill unless they had assurances from centrist Democrats there would be enough support to pass a separate budget bill targeting social programs and environmental issues.
President Joe Biden, progressive Democrats in the House and centrist Senate Democrats Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) have been meeting to reach a deal to allow the budget package to pass the Senate.
