China News Service, Washington, July 21 (Reporter Sha Hanting) The U.S. Senate held a procedural vote on the infrastructure construction bill on the 21st local time, but the result was not passed.
In the voting on that day, 51 votes were in favor and 49 votes were against. The affirmative votes did not reach 60 votes, so it was not passed.
According to regulations, only after the procedural vote is passed, the Senate can begin formal discussions and vote on the infrastructure construction bill.
Although the vote failed, 22 members of the Democrats and Republicans jointly issued a statement after the vote, saying that "the two parties have made great progress in the negotiations on the infrastructure bill and will strive to reach an agreement in the next few days."
The Democrats and Republicans have been negotiating the infrastructure bill for more than a month, and how to pay for the expenditure is one of the focal points of the two sides' differences.
U.S. President Biden has previously stated that he will raise taxes for individuals and large companies with an annual income of more than $400,000. The two parties have basically agreed to raise funds by enhancing the collection of unpaid taxes by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Biden said on the same day that the Infrastructure Construction Act is a "blueprint for blue-collar groups" and will rebuild the US economy.
He also emphasized that the vast majority of the American people expressed support for the plan.
Since Biden took office as president, the infrastructure construction plan has always been his “key project”, including improving transportation infrastructure, revitalizing the manufacturing industry, and expanding healthcare, totaling more than 4 trillion U.S. dollars.
Regarding the infrastructure plan, Democrats believe that it will improve US infrastructure and create jobs; Republicans are worried that it will further increase the US fiscal deficit and increase the risk of overheating the economy.
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