WASHINGTON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A bipartisan group of senators has reached an agreement on a long-awaited infrastructure plan, U.S. media reported Wednesday.
Senator Rob Portman from Ohio, the top Republican negotiator, told reporters that "we now have an agreement on the major issues" of the infrastructure plan, after meeting with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, according to Bloomberg.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, said the chamber could hold a procedural vote on the deal as early as Wednesday night, which is about a week after Senate Republicans blocked a vote to advance an infrastructure bill.
The agreement came a few weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden announced last month that he reached a deal with a bipartisan group of senators on a roughly 1.2-trillion-U.S. dollar infrastructure plan.
As the bipartisan group try to nail down details of the infrastructure package, Schumer and other Democratic leaders also seek to advance a separate 3.5-trillion-dollar bill, which aims to enact most of Biden's social-spending agenda without Republican support, using a process known as budget reconciliation.
"Senators continued to make good progress on both tracks of legislation," said Schumer.
Despite agreement on the infrastructure package, McConnell on Wednesday lashed out at Democrats' social-spending plan.
"More than 80 percent of Americans are worried about the rising cost of living. More than 70 percent are worried about slamming our economy with big tax hikes. But Democrats' big priority is another reckless taxing & spending spree that would give Americans $3.5T more reasons to worry," said the Republican leader in a tweet.
Biden and Democratic leaders, however, have been arguing that investment in child care, education and health care would reduce income inequality, strengthen the middle class, and build long-term economic growth. Enditem
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