13 Republican Congressmen Save Pelosi, Biden on $1.2T Infrastructure Vote

 

Six Democrats voted against the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan (BIF) late Friday night, which should have killed the legislation. Instead, 13 Republicans rode to Nancy Pelosi’s rescue and voted yes. The BIF passed the Senate nearly two months ago, so the legislation will head straight to the White House for the President’s signature.

Here are the Republicans for Pelosi:

  • Rep. Don Bacon (R–NE)
  • Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R–PA)
  • Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R–NY)
  • Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R–OH)
  • Rep. John Katko (R–NY)
  • Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R–IL)
  • Rep. Nicole Malliatokis (R–NY)
  • Rep. David McKinley (R–WV)
  • Rep. Tom Reed (R–NY)
  • Rep. Chris Smith (R–NJ)
  • Rep. Fred Upton (R–MI)
  • Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R–NJ)
  • Rep. Don Young (R–AK)

Despite Democrats not having the necessary support, the final vote was 228-206 thanks to these 13 Republicans. Each should be primaried, at least those who aren’t retiring. And it’s time for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R–CA) to be removed as House Minority Leader since he has demonstrated brutal incompetence.

For the record, here are the six Democrats who voted against the bill:

  • Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D–NY)
  • Rep. Cori Bush (D–MO)
  • Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–NY)
  • Rep. Ilhan Omar (D–MN)
  • Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D–MA)
  • Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D–MI)
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  1. James Salerno Inactive
    James Salerno
    @JamesSalerno

    Roderic (View Comment):

    This is the bill dealing with actual infrastructure, no? As one whose travel was held up by the broken I-40 bridge in Memphis, I think some investment in bridges and such is a good idea. A large number of large bridges are overdue for renovation, and the roads suck. Do we want more like the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis that killed a bunch of people in 2007? Things like that should not be happening in a first world country.

    Things like that happen because once you involve central government and no-accountability bureaucracy, there is no incentive to fix them.

    The infrastructure arguments that centrists make are exactly the same as the arguments leftists make for socialism.

    “We haven’t tried it the right way yet”

    “True infrastructure spending has never been tried”

    “If the government didn’t (insert program here) society would collapse and the children something something…”

    “We need more money so that it’s done right this time. How much? I don’t know, just give us more”

    • #121
  2. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    So, if $3.5T costs zero, does this get us some sort of rebate? 

    • #122
  3. Viruscop Inactive
    Viruscop
    @Viruscop

    Vance Richards (View Comment):

    So, if $3.5T costs zero, does this get us some sort of rebate?

    Yes. You get the infrastructure as an in-kind redistribution of income from the rich to everyone else, since the rich will be the ones paying the taxes to fund the infrastructure that the poor and middle class will use.

    • #123
  4. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Doug Watt (View Comment):

    $500 million grant for the Healthy Streets Program allows cities to “provide funding to deploy cool and porous pavements and expand tree cover to mitigate urban heat islands, improve air quality, and reduce flood risks.”

    Porous pavement is what we called potholes at one time, and the mother of all potholes are called sinkholes.

    There’s what’s called pervious concrete, but the upkeep is expensive.

    • #124
  5. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Viruscop (View Comment):

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    Zafar (View Comment):
    More seriously, is there a consequence to Dems and Reps getting proof that they can pass legislation together and bypass the extreme Left and (arguable) Right?

    It only happens with Democrat priorities. Republicans get absolutely zero Democrats crossing the aisle to support border security, entitlement reform, or school choice.

    How would GOP initiatives benefit Democrat constituencies?

    For one thing, black parents are clamoring for school choice.

    • #125
  6. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):
    If Adam Kinzinger was any more of a tool, he’d have “Stanley” stamped on his butt.

    Yeah, Adam Kinzinger who only voted to impeach Trump because of his “deeply held conservative principles”… just voted with Democrats on a two trillion dollar infrastructure bill that only spends about $500B on actual infrastructure.

    Maybe the Republicans will run on Repealing and Replacing it.

    And they have the full-throated support of rock-ribbed conservatives like Gary.

    California Governor Ronald Reagan spearheaded the building and expansion of the Foothills Freeway in Los Angeles during his two terms from 1967 to 1975; if freeways were good enough for Reagan, they are good enough for me. In fact, while President Reagan supported a drop in income tax rates, he more than doubled the federal gas tax from 4 cents a gallon to 9 cents a gallon. We need good roads, and we need to pay for them.

    Instead of calling me names, why don’t you stick to the issues? The Code of Conduct prohibits:

    • Personal attacks and ad hominem arguments against people, groups, or classes. Public figures may be exempt from this rule, provided the comment otherwise adheres to the CoC.
    • Defamatory, gossipy, or rude comments. Imagine you’re a guest at a dinner party with a group of seemingly nice people you don’t know… how would you handle yourself?

    I argued for the infrastructure bill on its merits. Let’s compete in the world of facts and not sling mud at each other.

    You conflated infrastructure and this bill.  Nice try.  Reagan would have wiped his shoe on a $2T bill that “only” does $500B of what it’s supposed to do.  

    • #126
  7. The Widow Patterson Member
    The Widow Patterson
    @jeannebodine

    In addition to the previous list, here are some more jewels (some of which may be part of the original list):

    • Money to train first responders to ride bicycles (I am not making this up);
    • $5 billion for low/zero emissions school buses;
    • $2.5 billion for a carbon storage commercialization program;
    • $21.5 billion for clean energy demonstrations;
    • $3.5 billion for Indian Health Service;
    • $500 million grant for the Healthy Streets Program (deploy cool and porous pavements and expand tree cover);
    • Requirement for new cars to be equipped with technology to detect intoxicated drivers;
    • Pilot program for a national mileage tax;
    • $50 million for ten “Transportation Resilience and Adaptation Centers of Excellence” (climate change BS).
    • #127
  8. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Viruscop (View Comment):

    Trump talked up infrastructure for years but did nothing.

    It turns out that Biden is a greater builder than Trump.

    GAZE.  

    • #128
  9. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    BDB (View Comment):

    Viruscop (View Comment):

    Trump talked up infrastructure for years but did nothing.

    It turns out that Biden is a greater builder than Trump.

    GAZE.

    Don’t feed the trolls. 

    • #129
  10. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Viruscop (View Comment):

    Vance Richards (View Comment):

    So, if $3.5T costs zero, does this get us some sort of rebate?

    Yes. You get the infrastructure as an in-kind redistribution of income from the rich to everyone else, since the rich will be the ones paying the taxes to fund the infrastructure that the poor and middle class will use.

    I couldn’t have described the socialist delusion better myself. The rich will be largely unaffected by the feds producing funny money (spending money neither we nor the rich have, but printing plenty to make up the difference). Everything being more expensive — including essentials like food and fuel — is always, always hurtful to the poor and middle class. The rich will barely feel it (they might have to let one of their gardeners go). It’s a great way to make the middle class poor. Probably Biden/Pelosi’s only accomplishment.

    You can’t redistribute your way out of what’s coming, even if we do manage to build a bridge or two in between the “green” “equity and inclusion” agenda built-in to the bill. We’re not European socialists. Heck, even the Europeans used as the “model” for American “progressives” aren’t really European socialists. It’s just fantasy. 

    • #130
  11. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):
    the feds producing funny money

    Remember, when the Federal Reserve says that they are “reducing”, it means they are reducing the rate. They are still buying bonds.

    If they do anything dramatic it will be in the news. And then the start market will crash.

    • #131
  12. The Cloaked Gaijin Member
    The Cloaked Gaijin
    @TheCloakedGaijin

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Anthony Gonzales

    Hmm, there are actually two congressmen named Anthony Gonzales.  Weird.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Gonzales

    • #132
  13. The Widow Patterson Member
    The Widow Patterson
    @jeannebodine

    Could someone please explain what they mean when they say 19 GOP Senators already voted for this monstrous infrastructure bill?

    • #133
  14. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    One last point.  Six radical members of the so-called Squad voted against this bill.  They are

    • Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D–NY)
    • Rep. Cori Bush (D–MO)
    • Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–NY)
    • Rep. Ilhan Omar (D–MN)
    • Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D–MA)
    • Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D–MI)

    Do you really want to be on their side?

    Well, they have their own political agenda and are outliers. Do you not understand these factional disputes? Are you so uninformed politically that you actually believe that they are voting ‘no’ for the same reasons Republicans are?

    You however,  stand against a large Republican majority and align with a large Democrat majority. 
    It’s a little bit surprising to see you advocate against what is perhaps the only thing Republicans ( save for the phonies) agree on.

    So it’s not just Trumpy McTrump is it?

    • #134
  15. Joker Member
    Joker
    @Joker

    Viruscop, you’re being disingenuous. You originally said that Democrats don’t benefit from Republican INITIATIVES. Not legislation. And most of it would be legislation if Democrats didn’t block it.

    The tariffs, the wall (such as it is), and Operation Warp Speed were not pieces of legislation, so they don’t apply here and I’m not going to talk them.

    The trade agreement really isn’t much different from NAFTA, but it was designed to fool stupid people into thinking that Trump was making a difference somewhere.

    The only item where you might have a point is Covid relief, but Trump railed against McConnell at least as much as Pelosi for not doling out more money. In the end, Democrats did give people more money than the GOP.

    So we should measure the success of a party by how much they give away? Sure. Just become your kid’s favorite parent by buying him a Corvette every week, that will make you a successful responsible parent.

     

    • #135
  16. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Probably nobody cares about this, but I do.  This is the leader of the most organized anti-trump group. 

    It’s just a boilerplate comment. We have had some really good pro comments here. These guys never talk in detail or originally. If you told him about the anti-centralization case he would go crazy like you weren’t realistic. These guys think they are really smart. The problem is they have just enough votes to screw everything up. 

     

     

     

    • #136
  17. Joker Member
    Joker
    @Joker

    Viruscop, evey post is more blinkered than the previous one. In what world do corporations not pass their increased income tax along to customers? If you happen to buy something, you’ll be paying the tax. Those increased prices will affect those making less than $400K. And it will affect them more seriously than those making more than $400K. Did you notice the state of the economy improved after the tax and regulatory environment was eased?

    And the federal government’s definition of rich is pretty elastic. At the inception of federal inome tax in the US, it was 1% of income on a handful of high earners. Alternative minimum tax was likewise only intended to affect the billionaires, but came to be imposed on millions of Americans.

    It’s pretty much a one way street for Democrat politicians who never see the Dennis Moore situation developing.

     

    • #137
  18. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    lol 

     

    Forcing electric cars is idiotic.

    • #138
  19. Joseph Stocks Inactive
    Joseph Stocks
    @JosephStocks

    Zafar (View Comment):

    More seriously, is there a consequence to Dems and Reps getting proof that they can pass legislation together and bypass the extreme Left and (arguable) Right? Is this bad news for ideologues and Bittereinders on both sides of politics?

    If passing trillion dollar spending bills during runaway inflation is the moderate, sensible approach then I don’t want to be moderate. 

    • #139
  20. Joseph Stocks Inactive
    Joseph Stocks
    @JosephStocks

    Viruscop (View Comment):

    Maybe if you had said “Let’s go Brandon” some more it would have stopped the bill from being passed.

    Ricochet is such a welcoming community we let Lincoln Project trolls throw their two cents in. 

    • #140
  21. Bill Berg Coolidge
    Bill Berg
    @Bill Berg

    The oligarchy is strong with this one. 

    We DO have a unified “leadership” … there are really not two “parties”, only big media, big corporations, big finance, big government, and lapdog RINOs doing a generally great job of convincing the masses that they still have some sort of voice — or even believing this is some sort of a “Democratic Republic” vs an oligarchy. 

    Rigged” is a great introduction. 

    • #141
  22. BastiatJunior Member
    BastiatJunior
    @BastiatJunior

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    California Governor Ronald Reagan spearheaded the building and expansion of the Foothills Freeway in Los Angeles during his two terms from 1967 to 1975; if freeways were good enough for Reagan, they are good enough for me.  In fact, while President Reagan supported a drop in income tax rates, he more than doubled the federal gas tax from 4 cents a gallon to 9 cents a gallon.  We need good roads, and we need to pay for them.

     

    As president, Reagan vetoed a project known as the “Big Dig,” another “Infrastructure” boondoggle that wasn’t as bad as this one.

    No one can know know what Reagan would do if he were president today, but on this issue I know which way to bet.

    • #142
  23. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    The Reticulator (View Comment):
    So now the playground bully is laughing at the kids he threw into the mud for not wearing clean clothes to school. 

    I try to avoid feeding the trolls.

    • #143
  24. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    BillJackson (View Comment):
    To be fair, he’s still be better than J.B. Pritzker. 

    John Wayne Gacy would be better than J.B. Pritzker. And he’s dead.

    • #144
  25. Viruscop Inactive
    Viruscop
    @Viruscop

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Viruscop (View Comment):

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    Zafar (View Comment):
    More seriously, is there a consequence to Dems and Reps getting proof that they can pass legislation together and bypass the extreme Left and (arguable) Right?

    It only happens with Democrat priorities. Republicans get absolutely zero Democrats crossing the aisle to support border security, entitlement reform, or school choice.

    How would GOP initiatives benefit Democrat constituencies?

    For one thing, black parents are clamoring for school choice.

    Will the GOP do anything when white parents prevent black parents from sending their kids to majority white schools? We both know that they will do nothing, and say that it is a local matter.

    So school choice would be worthless.

    • #145
  26. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):
    The rich will be largely unaffected by the feds producing funny money (spending money neither we nor the rich have, but printing plenty to make up the difference).

    Actually, the Democrats put in a $500 Billion tax cut for the rich inside the “Build Back Better” Bill.

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/01/business/reconciliation-package-taxes-salt/index.html

    • #146
  27. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Viruscop (View Comment):

    Another reminder that the Tea Party is dead.

    Well, it was stillborn.

    That’s whitewashing its murder pretty hard.  The Tea Party was not a political party in the sense the the Republican or Democrat Party is.  It was a party in the sense of a group of people for a cause — such as a working party, a party of four, or a party of angry Bostonians who dumped a bunch of tea into the harbor.

    I know that there is a vocal contingent whose “Taxed Enough Already” folksonym “TEA Party” (note caps) had aspirations to do real political party things, and they’ll tell you how they are the real people, in true tribal fashion.  “Been doing this since 1995 [or whatever], we are the TEA Party!”  But the Tea Party as we know it was a grassroots response to Obama’s appalling election, and it delivered crushing, historic victories in 2010.  And then the GOPe and the Democrats went to war against it.  Obama weaponized the IRS against us, and Lois Lerner was never touched.  John Boehner appointed 16-term Representative Hal “Prince of Pork” Rogers to Budget, and Paul (the status quo wonk) Ryan to Appropriations.  Forgive me for briefly liking Ryan at the time — in comparison, he shone.  Paul Ryan famously sabotaged Trump’s (first) term, buying into the infernal Russia hoax, opposing the President the Tea Party elected.

    The Tea Party is still here, of course.  We weren’t all vaporized by Lois Lerner or Obama, or the GOPe gang.  No, the angry hobbits remain under whatever name.  The Tea Party is dead — Long Live the Tea Party!  And Trump is our President.

    Let’s go Brandon.

    • #147
  28. Viruscop Inactive
    Viruscop
    @Viruscop

    Joker (View Comment):

    Viruscop, evey post is more blinkered than the previous one. In what world do corporations not pass their increased income tax along to customers? If you happen to buy something, you’ll be paying the tax. Those increased prices will affect those making less than $400K. And it will affect them more seriously than those making more than $400K. Did you notice the state of the economy improved after the tax and regulatory environment was eased?

    In this world. If you raise prices while other companies eat their costs, then consumers will shift to your competitors that did not raise the price. The econ 101 framework of a perfectly competitive market where prices rise for everyone only holds under strict assumptions.

    There was no noticeable change in long-term GDP growth after the Trump tax cuts. There was a short-term increase before the midterms, but nothing that altered the economic trajectory of the US or changed world history.

    • #148
  29. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Hang On (View Comment):

    I couldn’t disagree more with the O/P. My criticism of McCarthy and the Republicans who voted against this is that it should have been sold as a nationalist plan for stitching the country together. As it is, they have turned it into a Biden victory rather than an American victory. Dumb.

    Huh?  You think the problem is branding?

    Let’s go Branding!

    • #149
  30. Viruscop Inactive
    Viruscop
    @Viruscop

    Joseph Stocks (View Comment):

    Viruscop (View Comment):

    Maybe if you had said “Let’s go Brandon” some more it would have stopped the bill from being passed.

    Ricochet is such a welcoming community we let Lincoln Project trolls throw their two cents in.

    I have nothing to do with the Lincoln Project.

    • #150
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