Maine’s two senators on Wednesday lauded progress on a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure bill that includes $550 billion in new spending for public works projects that Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, played a lead role in crafting.
The Senate voted 67-32 early Wednesday evening to start debating the proposal that was developed by a bipartisan group of 10 senators that hashed out the plan. Collins was a part of that group and, at a news conference after the vote, said she and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, worked together on a portion of the bill that will allocate $65 billion for improving broadband coverage in the country.
“This is truly a night to celebrate,” Collins said.
Collins and others noted that the effort to get the bill passed is not yet over and will require additional votes in the Senate and House..
“But this was a vitally important first step,” she said.
As important as the bridges, highways and other infrastructure improvements that the bill will pay for, Collins said, was demonstrating that Republicans and Democrats can work together on a major piece of legislation that the country needs.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, also praised the Senate’s vote to advance the bill and the bipartisan effort that got it moving after the Senate had earlier this month voted against taking up the measure.
“For too long, America’s infrastructure needs have gone unaddressed as partisan politics delayed efforts to meet the needs of our citizens. No longer,” King said in a statement.
King said the investment in broadband infrastructure is particularly important because it will extend high-speed internet connections into rural areas. As a member of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, he also voted this month to support spending in the bill for energy storage research and to strengthen cybersecurity.
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