The vote to go ahead with the legislation that stacks almost 3 feet high in one sided paper was voted 67 to 27 by Senators of both parties .
That’s seven votes above the Senate requirement for 60 votes on major legislation….
This sends the bill back over to the US House which must approve it….
House leader Pelosi wants NO approval unless a reconciliation budget is ALSO passed by House Democrats….
Republican leader McConnell does NOT ….
And?
This vote IS another step against Trump’s wishes….
Even McConnell is for this Infrastructure Bill itself….
Such an agreement appeared to be in doubt by Saturday afternoon, as lawmakers continued to spar over a series of potential tweaks to the bill. Despite days of talks, Democrats and Republicans still have failed to agree on a final list of amendments that might appease both sides and allow them to move a step closer to passage…..
…
Some of these same GOP lawmakers had voted earlier in the debate against proceeding to the bill. The chamber forged ahead anyway on a bipartisan basis, meaning their criticisms now threaten only to delay, not scuttle, the Senate’s infrastructure ambitions.
18 Republicans & 49 Democrats voted for cloture (total 67)
27 Republicans voted against cloture
5 Republicans & 1 Democrat (Ralph Warnock of Ga) did not vote (total 6)
The 18 Republicans voting for cloture (alphabetical by state): Note that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) is among them
Murkowski R-AK)
Grassley R-IA)
Crapo R-ID)
Risch R-ID)
Young R-IN)
McConnell R-KY)
Cassidy R-LA)
Collins R-ME)
Blunt R-MO)
Tillis R-NC)
Cramer R-ND)
Hoeven R-ND)
Fischer R-NE)
Portman R-OH)
Rounds R-SD)
Cornyn R-TX)
Romney R-UT)
Capito R-WV)
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=117&session=1&vote=00309
7 MORE than 60😳
One might expect that opposition came from Republicans in the West and Midwest, from Idaho and Utah to Missouri and Ohio, but most of it in fact came from the South, which had a long history of Dixiecratic support of New-Deal-type legislation (in return for going slow on segregation), and where the need for infrastructure is probably greatest.
The only three Southern & Border Republican yeas came from Mitch McConnell (but not Rand Paul) of Kentucky, John Cornyn (but not Ted Cruz) of Texas and Bill Cassidy (but not John Kennedy) of Louisiana. [Richard Burr (NC), Lindsay Graham & Tim Scott (SC) and Marco Rubio (Fla) did not vote.] Details of the Western & Midwestern Republicans given below.
However, the Western and Midwestern Republicans split about evenly, as did the two remaining Northeastern Republican Senators (Susan Collins-Miane, yea, Pat Toomey-Pa nay).
But the bipartisanism across regions isn’t unusual; so-called “Rivers and Harbors” bills (which opponents called pork-barrel politics) have been negotiated and passed at least since Andrew Jackson’s time (but over the opposition of Jackson and then Martin Van Buren).
While this time around, the Democrats were the prime movers, they (then being the party of low tariffs, states’ rights and limited government) had once been the chief objectors, while the Federalists, Whigs and Republicans had one been the big pushers of internal improvements such as the Transcontinental Railroad (as well as human infrastructure, such as Land Grant Colleges).
Midwestern GOP and Split delegations (alphabetical by state):
Braun (R-IN), Nay
Young (R-IN), Yea
Ernst (R-IA), Nay
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Marshall (R-KS), Nay
Moran (R-KS), Nay
Blunt (R-MO), Yea
Hawley (R-MO), Nay
Fischer (R-NE), Yea
Sasse (R-NE), Nay
Cramer (R-ND), Yea
Hoeven (R-ND), Yea
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Portman (R-OH), Yea
Rounds (R-SD), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Nay
Western GOP and Split delegations:
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Sullivan (R-AK), Nay
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Risch (R-ID), Yea
Daines (R-MT), Nay
Tester (D-MT), Yea
Lee (R-UT), Nay
Romney (R-UT), Yea
Barrasso (R-WY), Not Voting
Lummis (R-WY), Nay
Oops! I should never do this kind of thing while sleepy.
I overlooked two more Southern Republicans who voted yea: Shelley Moore Capito of W. Va and Thom Tillis of N.C.
So the Mountain Republicans split 3-2 against: McConnell & Capito yea, Rand Paul (Ky), Blackburn & Hagerty (Tenn.) nay.
And the Republicans from the South Atlantic split evenly: Tillis (NC) Yea; Bill Scott (Fla) Nay; four others (Burr, Graham, Tim Scott & Graham) not voting.
So my grand thesis is basically reduced to something rather small: saying that in the South Central states, only John Cornyn (Texas) and Bill Cassidy (La) voted yea, while Ted Cruz (Tx), John Kennedy (La) and the GOP delegations from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama voted nay — i.e. 10-2 against. And this is the region that would probably most benefit from more infrastructure spending.
Don’t fret!
When the money starts flowing?
Those hypocritical bastards will be out there with a shovel and hard hat on and a goofy smile on their face as the bridges start to be built taking full credit for “bringing home the bacon.”
Of course. And their conservative base will believe them.
Rob Portman has been one of the main Republican negotiators on this bill. Every Republican running to replace him in the Senate from Ohio is opposed to this legislation.
Give you one guess why.
Yea Keith…
Except when the money starts flowing?
The GOPer’s WILL be doing town hall’s saying THEY helped get the money…’Vote FOR Them’…..