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US Senate passes $1-trillion infrastructure bill: Here's what Michigan would get

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's campaign pledge of three years ago to "Fix the Damn Roads" got a boost Tuesday as the U.S. Senate capped months of negotiations by passing a $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill.

It now goes to the U.S. House, where the pressure to accept the proposal — which could send $7.3 billion to Michigan for highway repairs and more than $500 million for bridge work over the next five years, among other investments — will be enormous.

"(It) will create millions of good-paying jobs; fix crumbling roads and bridges; help us build a clean, resilient energy grid; bolster public transportation; deliver clean drinking water to millions of families, and ensure every home has access to high-speed internet," Whitmer said.

Earlier this year, she pressed the Senate to pass a bill, noting 40% of the state's roads and bridges were in poor or mediocre condition, a circumstance every Michigander is well aware of.

She noted there is "a lot left to do" before final passage and she's right: House Democrats, who control a slim eight-seat majority in that chamber, insist the Senate pass a $3.5-trillion budget framework that could eventually be used to enact Medicare expansion, child care for working families, tuition-free community colleges and more by raising taxes on wealthy people and corporations before the House takes up the infrastructure bill.

With that framework needing only 51 votes in the Senate, however, it's a doable task if that chamber's Democrats stick together.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden, who refused to take no for an answer in negotiations with Senate Democrats and a group of Republicans eager to strike some sort of infrastructure deal without raising taxes, can claim a clear victory, one which for four years eluded his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Even with Trump continuing to raise objections, arguing that they were giving Democrats a win, and naysayers arguing the package was too expensive, 19 Republican senators crossed the aisle to join Democrats to vote for the package, 69-30. That group included another native Michigander — Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who grew up in the state and was part of the group that negotiated the deal with the White House.

It's not anywhere near the original $2-trillion proposal Biden made. But it remains an achievement, given how partisan divisions have riven Washington in recent years. In the end, even Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted for it.

“For decades," Romney said, "elected officials have talked about addressing our nation’s aging infrastructure. The (bill) that passed out of the Senate today turns that talk into reality. While this bill is not perfect — as is the case with a true compromise — it provides a once-in-a-generation investment in our country’s physical infrastructure without raising taxes. That is what people and communities across the country demanded of us."

Critics complained that the funding streams to pay for the legislation, including using some unused COVID-19 relief funds, weren't enough to cover the whole package. The Congressional Budget Office said it could add more than $250 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years.

Those complaints fell on deaf ears. In all, the legislation will add $550 billion in new funding for the nation's roads, bridges and other physical infrastructure and related programs.

And it's littered with items that could be felt in Michigan:

Based on state-by-state allocations, Michigan stands to receive $7.3 billion in federal highway aid, $563 million for bridge replacement and repairs, and could compete with other states for tens of billions more in other economically important bridge or road projects.

Buses, rail lines and other means of public transportation in the state could see an extra $1 billion in federal investments.

The state would receive a minimum of $100 million to help extend broadband Internet coverage, including across rural swaths of Michigan that currently lack it. Some 2.5 million Michiganders living in low-income households may also be eligible for funds that will help them afford Internet access.

Added to the annual appropriation of between $200 million and $300 million a year to pay for environmental projects in and around the Great Lakes, the legislation would add $1 billion over five years, greatly enhancing the current funding stream.

And the state's automakers, moving toward adopting more electric vehicles in the near future, could be helped greatly by a $7.5 billion commitment in the legislation for building charging stations across the U.S., with more money potentially coming in the budget reconciliation bill. A lack of charging stations is generally seen as one key reason Americans have been slow to adopt electric vehicles.

Ford Motor Co. said in a statement it "applauds this bipartisan step to make long overdue investments in our nation’s infrastructure and accelerate the transition to a zero emissions transportation future."

That's not all that is in the bill that could change the future of the auto industry, with measures that could require vehicles to have technology to stop drunken drivers from operating them as well as having automated braking systems.

Other parts of the legislation that could help Michigan include national funding for improving ports of entry at the northern border; $500 million for a program pushed by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., to help communities prepare for natural risks, such as the flooding that has hit the state this year, and $55 billion to be invested in clean drinking water, including replacing lead service lines and addressing so-called "forever" PFAS chemical wastes.

The legislation also includes a measure pushed by Michigan's senators to make it more difficult for the federal government to get around rules requiring it to use American-made products.

""It’s an investment in creating good-paying jobs, helping local businesses grow and upgrading our aging and crumbling infrastructure," Peters said of the bill after voting for it along with Sen. Debbie Stabenow, also D-Mich. "This is a great step, and we must keep working to make sure this legislation is signed into law.”

Added Stabenow, "It’s going to create jobs and strengthen our Buy American laws to ensure that American tax dollars are spent on American products and services. Bottom line: this bill is a win for Michigan."