Two pieces of legislation contain many of the reforms that President Biden promised Americans on the campaign trail. The US$1tn Infrastructure Bill, which has received bipartisan support, seeks to repair the US’s physical infrastructure which has been deteriorating for the past thirty years. The Build Back Better Bill, at US$3.5tn, seeks to repair the US’s ‘human infrastructure,’ and provide measures to mitigate climate change. The Republicans and some moderate Democrats do not support it. The 90+ strong progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives have vowed that they will not support the Infrastructure Bill unless the Build Back Better Bill passes the Senate, based on an agreement by Democrats to support both. Two ‘moderate’ Democratic Senators, whose votes are necessary to pass the Build Back Better Bill, are withholding their support.
