Senate budget deal includes $20 billion for infrastructure projects

A bipartisan budget deal announced by Senate leaders Wednesday includes $20 billion for U.S. infrastructure programs, an investment plan that comes ahead of the Trump administration’s highly anticipated rebuilding proposal.

The funds would go toward “existing” projects for water and energy infrastructure as well as expanding broadband to rural regions and improving surface transportation, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech detailing the proposal.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the budget agreement “will clear the way for a new investment in our nation’s infrastructure, a bipartisan priority shared by the president and lawmakers of both parties.”

The deal comes as the White House prepares to unveil its long-awaited infrastructure proposal on Monday following a number of delays and widespread speculation over revenue streams for the plan.

The federal government is expected to kick in $200 billion toward a rebuilding initiative to overhaul U.S. roads, bridges, transit systems, airports and other public works. The administration plans to rely on state and local governments, and private sector investment, to foot the rest of the bill.

The White House said Tuesday that it plans to release infrastructure “principles” for a package of “at least $1.5 trillion,” the same number President Trump touted during his State of the Union address last week.

The proposal is expected to place an emphasis on rural regions. In a fact sheet distributed to reporters last week, the administration said a quarter of the federal seed money for infrastructure would go toward a pot for rural investment.

While leaders in the Senate reached the two-year budget deal in an effort to avert a government shutdown this week, its future in the House remains uncertain, as lawmakers in the lower chamber continue to battle over immigration.