Infrastructure

After a bipartisan deal was reached, the Senate voted on Wednesday evening (67-32) to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed on the bipartisan infrastructure package, H.R. 3684, which provides $550 billion in new spending – a decrease from the earlier $579 billion negotiated White House / Senate June proposal. While the timing on Senate action has not been set, the Senate convened on Thursday to resume consideration of a motion to proceed on the bipartisan infrastructure package and debate may continue into this weekend.

So far, the agreement includes:

• $110 billion for roads, bridges and major projects;
• $73 billion for electric grid upgrades;
• $66 billion for rail and Amtrak improvements;
• $65 billion for broadband expansion;
• $55 billion for clean drinking water;
• $39 billion for transit;
• $17 billion for ports and $25 billion for airports; and
• $7.5 billion for electric vehicle chargers.

Appropriations

On Thursday, the House finished work on its seven-bill maxibus (H.R. 4502) which will likely pass on a party-line vote

COVID Vaccinations

New data show that the efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine dropped from 96 percent to 84 percent over six months. The decline could fuel Pfizer’s case that a third booster shot may be needed eventually. The data — which were released in a preprint and not peer-reviewed — suggest that the vaccine was 91 percent effective overall at preventing Covid-19 over six months. Efficacy seemed to fall by an average of 6 percent every two months after doses were administered, the 44,000-person study found, with a peak of 96 percent efficacy within two months of vaccination. At the same time, the overall efficacy of the vaccine against severe disease, including those with low blood oxygen levels, was 97 percent.