A Silver Lining?

Yesterday the House finally passed the American Jobs Plan aka Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIP).   This could have been passed in late September and it if had the Democratic party may have done better in the NJ and Virginia elections.   It isn't clear that having this bill passed in Sept would have changed the results in those elections but surely the failure to pass it did not help.

As a reminder of the short history of this bill.  It was passed in the Senate in August with a bipartisan vote.  At the same time the Senate passed a budget resolution that would allow other elements of Biden's domestic policy agenda (Build Back Better) to be crafted and passed with only Democratic votes using budget reconciliation which would prevent the GOP from using a filibuster.

It was clear to anyone who paid attention that the $3.5 trillion dollar budget was ill-formed policy and bad politics but somehow a number of Dems thought spending $3.5 trillion was progressive and realistic.  The legislation then went to the House.  At that point some centrist Dems negotiated with the House leadership that the AJP would be voted on independently of a vote on the BBB act.  These Dems are part of bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus although it's not clear if they have ever solved any problems up to now. The House leadership agreed to a vote on the AJP on Sept 27th independent of the BBB Act.  The House then passed the budget and began working on the BBB Act.

But because the BBB act was not ready for a vote in later September (it still isn't) the House Progressive Caucus (HPC) blocked the vote.   So the House leadership reneged on the deal. 

The BBB Act is still a mess but more on that later. 

Six Democratic Socialists (please don't call them progressive) voted against the AJP.  This meant that GOP votes were needed.   And a few GOP members of the Problem Solvers Caucus stepped up and provided the votes to pass the bill.

So here's the silver lining:

1)  The bill passed and it is an historic achievement.  The bill is progressive, pragmatic and popular.

2) The bill did not satisfy the left wing extremists.  

3)  A few GOP members voted for it.  That makes it bipartisan, just barely, but bipartisan nonetheless.  

4) The vast majority of the House GOP voted against it.  So as the projects under the act start implementation the Dems can point to the House members who voted against fixing highways, bridges and tunnels; voted against rural broadband; voted against improving the power grid, etc.