Pelosi commits to rallying support for infrastructure vote

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday committed to rallying support for the bipartisan infrastructure bill in a statement released just before the House voted to approve a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint.

The budget vote had been held up by the demands of 10 centrist Democrats who wanted the House to first vote on a bipartisan infrastructure measure already approved by the Senate.

House progressives want the infrastructure vote to be put on ice until after the House and Senate approve a budget reconciliation package on Democratic votes that would be set up by the blueprint.

Pelosi committed to a Sept. 27 deadline to pass the infrastructure bill to secure the support of the centrists for the budget vote. 

The budget was then approved in a party-line vote, with all House Democrats backing it.

“I am committing to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by September 27. I do so with a commitment to rally House Democratic support for its passage,” Pelosi said in the statement. 

Pelosi also thanked Rep. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), who has been the leader of the moderate group of Democrats, in her statement. 

“I thank Congressman Gottheimer and others for their enthusiastic support for the infrastructure bill and know that they also share in the Build Back Better vision of President Biden,” she added, referring to Biden’s domestic agenda.