The US Senate voted on Saturday, August 7, in favor of a bill to renovate infrastructure in the amount of more than 1,000 billion dollars.

This is an important step after months of negotiations between President Joe Biden and the senators.

The upper house of Congress voted with 67 votes for and 27 against for the project.

This represents a massive investment to refurbish roads, bridges and airports in the United States. 

With the agreement of 18 Republicans, including their powerful leader Mitch McConnell, and 49 Democrats, the Senate decided to end debate on the bill.

This procedural vote required 60 votes.

Uncertainty around the date of the final vote 

The date of the final vote on this bill has not yet been determined.

Lawmakers have prepared many amendments and are trying to come to an agreement to move quickly.

A favorable final vote would constitute a considerable victory for Joe Biden.

The text would then be discussed in the House of Representatives.

>> See also: Joe Biden wants to revive the economy through infrastructure and a "green deal"

The US president tweeted that it was a "generation's investment" and would generate "well-paying jobs to rehabilitate roads, bridges, water systems and the American electricity grid ".

“You can't afford not to do it,” he said.

"We cannot rebuild like we did before Covid-19. We have to rebuild better."

An economic impact that is the subject of debate

The US Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that the bill could increase the federal deficit by more than $ 256 billion over ten years.

This analysis does not take into account the $ 57 billion in additional revenue that Washington could recover over the long term thanks to the growth gains generated by the project.

The project provides for $ 550 billion in new spending and $ 450 billion in funds already allocated to other items.

Money must be released in particular for the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles or the renovation of drinking water circuits.

With AFP and Reuters 

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