Tammy Baldwin is a yes, Ron Johnson a no on $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package
Craig Gilbert
WASHINGTON – Wisconsin’s two U.S. senators split over the bipartisan infrastructure bill that overwhelmingly passed the Senate Tuesday, with Democrat Tammy Baldwin supporting it and Republican Ron Johnson opposing it.
Every Senate Democrat voted for the legislation. Johnson was one of 30 Republicans who voted against it, while 19 Republicans (including GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell) voted for it. The final vote in the Senate, which has 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, was 69-30 in favor.
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill includes about $550 billion in new spending over five years. The measure is the country’s largest infrastructure investment in years and is aimed at shoring up and improving America’s roads, bridges, railways, water systems, and broadband internet.
“It’s time to fix our roads and bridges. And we do so in a responsible way,” said Ohio Republican Rob Portman, part of a bipartisan group of senators that were critical to shaping and passing the bill.
Johnson declared his opposition well before the vote.
“One thing I do know that Washington is really good at, is mortgaging our children’s future in a bipartisan fashion,” said Johnson, who attacked the legislation for not being fully paid for.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the measure contained $256 billion in deficit spending (meaning it would raise the deficit by that amount).
Johnson complained this week that people “just shrug” at that amount.
Baldwin said on Twitter Monday, “Wisconsin's roads and bridges need to be fixed. With the bipartisan infrastructure legislation, we will create jobs and put people to work rebuilding.”
The bill must still pass the House.
The White House released a document last week on state-by-state impacts of the infrastructure bill. It said that based on funding formulas, Wisconsin would be due to receive $5.2 billion in federal highway aid and $225 million for bridge repair and replacement over five years.
Wisconsin can also compete with other states for $12.5 billion in other bridge spending and a $16 billion fund for other economically important projects.
In a statement after the vote, Baldwin said:
“I voted for this bipartisan legislation because it will create good paying jobs and put Wisconsin to work fixing our roads and bridges, rebuilding our water infrastructure, and expanding access to affordable and reliable high speed broadband for Wisconsin families, students, small businesses, and farmers."
Johnson said in a statement that, “We need to spend money on infrastructure. We also need to stop further mortgaging our children’s future .... This is just the first step in the Democrats’ plan to pass their $5 trillion-plus radical tax-and-spend agenda, and I simply couldn’t help facilitate it.”