ESTERO — We spoke with Sen. Marco Rubio Tuesday during his visit to Estero. He responded to the recent passage of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Bill in Congress.
Rubio was one of the senators who did not vote for the bill, and on Tuesday he told us, if he had his way, the bill would be less than half the size it is now. He believes it contains a lot of unneeded spending, but he also believes it could lead to the passage of the Build Back Better Act next, something he doesn’t support at all.
The Infrastructure Bill is now sitting on President Biden’s desk. It contains 12 different major areas of investment, but Sen. Rubio said Tuesday, if he had his way, it would only have 3 investment areas.
“If it was about roads and bridges and even broadband access, and that’s what it was about, I think a lot of us could have been behind it, but they expanded it beyond it," said Sen. Rubio.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg explained that expansion in a press conference Monday.
“What you’re going to see, within the framework of course that the law puts forward, is an emphasis on projects that, taken together, give us extra value in the priorities of this administration: Economic strength, safety, climate, equity, preparing for the future," said Sec. Buttigieg.
But Rubio also said he doesn’t believe this is all just about infrastructure. He believes this could provide momentum leading to the passage of the “Build Back Better Act.”
“It was being used as a carrot to get the stick passed of the Build Back Socialist Plan, which would run up our debt over $2 trillion,” said Rubio.
Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi confirmed that bill may be coming soon during a speech at the international climate change conference in Glasgow.
“That is our plan, to pass the bill the week of November 15th," said Rep. Pelosi.
In total 19 Republican senators and 13 Republican congressmen voted for the infrastructure bill. It’s expected to be signed into law by the President later this week.
