December 29, 2021
On November 5th, 2021, the House of Representatives passed a large-scale (over $1 trillion) infrastructure bill, following months of debate. The bill was passed in a 228-206 vote, with 13 Republicans joining Democrats in voting for the bill, while six Democrats voted against it. These six Democrats were Progressives who wanted the bill to include more money. $110 billion will be allocated to rebuild and advance roads and bridges, as well as used for significant infrastructure projects.[1] It also includes $39 billion for projects that modernize public transit.[2][3]
The fight over this bill has and will continue to have several important consequences. First off, the bill had a huge impact on the gubernatorial race in Virginia. Glenn Youngkin recently became the Governor-Elect of Virginia after a tightly contested election that included millions of dollars spent by both the Democratic and Republican candidates. Youngkin’s victory was a part of a sweep of the elections by Republicans in Virginia’s highest offices. Winsome Sears became the first woman and woman of color elected to be Lieutenant Governor in the history of Virginia, while Jason Miyares was elected to become the new Attorney General for Virginia.
This loss for Democrats in Virginia is a bad sign of things to come in the upcoming midterm elections. Youngkin has already promised to ban the teaching of critical race theory in Virginia, where it is not being currently taught. He has also promised to slash taxes, which could cost the state $1.2 billion.[4]
Additionally, abortion rights are more than likely to be at risk now that the Republicans also control the House of Delegates in Richmond. Many advances that Democrats had made over the past few years on gun rights and abortion laws are at risk of being repealed and replaced. These advances include codifying abortion rights and red flag laws that allows a judge to take away someone’s guns if the court believes they are a danger to themselves or others.[5][6] All these advances are at risk with the election of Youngkin and the new Republican majority House of Delegates.[7]
The other important effect of this infrastructure bill is its effect on the midterms and the presidential election. The delay in the passage of the bill weakened the Democrat approval rate across the country.[8] The infighting between the Progressive and centrist Democrats over the nuances of the bill acted as a distraction and opened the path for Republicans to acquire a big weapon in their fight against Democrats. Republicans used the lag of the passing of the infrastructure bill to frame Democrats as unproductive in office, as well as a time-consuming political opposition creating a barrier to providing new legislation and bills for the American people. Republicans were able to drag Democrats through the mud over the lack of an infrastructure bill that Biden had promised would take a month but took most of the year. Democrats should be extremely worried about the Republicans in the upcoming elections.
Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia and Senator Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona were able to hold the bill up so that they could continue fighting against the elimination of the filibuster. Manchin and Sinema are part of a small group of Democrats that want to keep the filibuster. This has allowed them to hold the bill hostage over this small position where most of the Democrat party is united. Manchin and Sinema represent a minority, as they are both Democrat senators of predominantly Republican states.[9] This means that they must pander to voters in their states so they can continue to be reelected.[10] Two people should not be able to delay a vote on a bill that has important consequences. This power they wield is unfair and will lead to serious consequences if left unchecked.
Finally, the last consequence of this bill is its effect on the next presidential election. Biden and the Democrats were able to win the previous election off the extreme amount of distrust and dislike President Trump had generated for himself. However, this impact is beginning to wear off. Many voters have moved on from the Trump presidency and are now focusing on the current presidency. Republicans have already began to paint President Biden as ineffective. The bungling of this infrastructure bill will serve as future ammunition that the Republicans can use against President Biden. President Biden made promises that he was unable to keep. This will be the strongest point that Republicans will make in the upcoming presidential election, and it is a very convincing one. Many voters will not feel the effects of the bill for a long time, and they might be easily convinced of President Biden’s ineffectiveness if Democrats continue to fight among themselves.
[1] Pramuk, J. “House passes $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that includes transport, broadband and utility funding, sends it to Biden.” CNBC. November 8, 2021. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/05/house-passes-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-sends-it-to-biden.html.
[2] “What will Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Do?” CBS News. November 8, 2021. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/infrastructure-bill-2021-implementation/.
[3] Lobosco, K., & Luhby, T. “Here’s what’s in the bipartisan infrastructure package.” CNN. November 15, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/politics/infrastructure-bill-explained/index.html.
[4] Annikakimc. “How Glenn Youngkin plans to address jobs, taxes and education after winning Virginia’s gubernatorial race.” CNBC. November 4, 2021. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/04/virginia-governor-glenn-youngkin-economic-policies.html.
[5] Albiges, M. “These 10 new Virginia gun laws go into effect next week.” Pilotonline. June 27, 2020. https://www.pilotonline.com/government/virginia/vp-nw-new-gun-laws-july-1-20200627-7y467f6qjzdodewpdznujpev6m-story.html.
[6] Kelly, C. “Virginia governor signs abortion protections into law.” CNN. April 10, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/politics/virginia-abortion-protections/index.html.
[7] Elliott, P. “What Glenn Youngkin’s victory means for Virginia – and Democrats.” Time. November 3, 2021. https://time.com/6113234/glenn-youngkin-virginia-analysis/.
[8] Enten, H. “Analysis: Why Biden is flailing.” CNN. October 23, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/23/politics/economy-biden-approval-virginia-analysis/index.html.
[9] “Arizona presidential election voting history.” 270toWin. https://www.270towin.com/states/Arizona.
[10] Montini, E. J. “Calling BS on sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s bogus outrage over stalled infrastructure bill.” The Arizona Republic. October 3, 2021. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2021/10/03/kyrsten-sinemas-outrage-stalled-infrastructure-bill-bs/5976429001/.
Image Credits: Ultima_Gaina via iStock
Policy & Political Review 
WOW ! Great Job, Brendan
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