In the last few weeks, there has been major movement from Congress to find a path towards infrastructure investment for our nation.

The majority of these negotiations have been between the Senate and the White House, and have been bipartisan.

It does appear that there will be two ways things will shake out – one in the form of a bipartisan Senate bill, the other in the form of a congressional budget reconciliation bill.

One thing is clear - the Senate holds the cards.

Bipartisan Senate Infrastructure Bill

This once in a generation piece of legislation is mostly focused around physical infrastructure, and has heavy emphasis on creating and sustaining good-paying, union jobs.

This deal makes:

• The largest federal investment in public transit ever, and the largest federal investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak. This will keep our nation moving and provide a boost to our members who make everything from tires to rail.
• The single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. Our members stand ready to supply the materials for repair, replacement, and rehabilitation of these bridges. From the taconite to make the steel to the steel itself to guardrails to surfacing materials, USW members have a hand.
• The largest investment in clean drinking water and waste water infrastructure in American history, delivering clean water to millions of families. Our members' work is critical in all aspects of this, from the components to the water treatment.
• Access to reliable high-speed internet available for every American, keeping our workplaces connected and our children educated.
• Our jobs a priority. Buy America provisions are broadly applied in the bill. This is something that is imperative to our union because, again, tax dollars used for investment should be spent on a supply chain that supports those who pay the taxes.

Congressional Budget Reconciliation Bill

Running right behind the bipartisan infrastructure proposal is a congressional budget resolution.

Similar to efforts passed on COVID earlier this year, this resolution will set a process for Congress to invest in clean infrastructure investments, cut down on imports of products like dirty steel, raise revenue from the ultra-wealthy while investing in an expansion of Medicare.

The budget resolution will have a more difficult path, but we know it can be done if our legislators put people first and work together.

Stay tuned in the next few weeks for more on this.

In solidarity,

Tom