Dems aim for July vote as Congress digs in on infrastructure

WASHINGTON (AP) — Even before President Joe Biden unveiled his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, congressional committees were laying the groundwork for a major public works investment with the goal of passage over the summer.

They've held hearings to listen to experts in the field and top-ranking administration officials. They've introduced scores of bills. They've asked lawmakers from both parties to submit their ideas for specific projects soon as Thursday.

And now the hard part begins, cobbling together an ambitious final product that can pass such an closely divided House and Senate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cited July 4 as the date she would like to have an infrastructure bill approved, but that deadline could slip to later in the month, she told Democratic lawmakers in a conference call earlier this week, a senior Democratic aide said Wednesday.

It’s likely that individual committees would advance their pieces of legislation and then a comprehensive bill would be assembled from that work, though the process for passing Biden’s plan hasn’t been settled. The aide was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and discussed it on condition of anonymity.

Various components of the sweeping plan will likely prove popular. Biden wants $25 billion put into improving the nation’s airports, $115 billion for bridges and roads in the most critical need of repair and $17 billion for ports and waterways, for example.

The Democratic chairmen of the committees overseeing potential roads, bridges and transit investments are aiming to pass a highway reauthorization bill — a key element of the infrastructure push — out of committee before Memorial Day.

To sweeten the prospects for bipartisan support, Democrats are offering lawmakers the chance to...