Water bill may open spigot for Biden infrastructure plan

Rarely has a routine water resources bill generated so much political buzz

WASHINGTON -- Rarely has a routine water resources bill generated so much political buzz, but as senators hoisted the measure to passage Thursday the bipartisan infrastructure legislation served as a potential template for building consensus around President Joe Biden’s ambitious American Jobs Plan. The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 authorizes about $35 billion over five years to improve leaky pipes and upgrade facilities, and is widely supported by lawmakers and their states back home. This time, though, it could be so much more — a building block in Biden's broader $2.3 trillion proposal to invest in roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Senators overwhelmingly approved the measure, 89-2, in what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called "a great example" of what's possible in Congress. “Let it be a signal to our Republican colleagues that Senate Democrats want to work together on infrastructure when and where we can," he said.