US Congress approves Biden's infrastructure package

For months, President Biden has been fighting over two key projects of his term in office.

One of them has now made it through the congress.

Biden has to worry about the second project.

Washington - After months of wrangling, the US Congress has passed one of President Joe Biden's core domestic policies.

A few weeks after the Senate, the House of Representatives finally adopted a major investment program late in the evening to modernize the country's infrastructure.

Around 550 billion US dollars (476 billion euros) of new investments in infrastructure are planned over the next few years.

In total - including previously budgeted funds - the package is worth more than a trillion dollars.

Violent dispute among Biden's Democrats over a second investment package had long delayed the infrastructure plans.

The billions in infrastructure are to be used in the coming years for roads, bridges, ports, airports, local transport and rail.

Climate protection, which Biden has made a top priority, should also benefit from some of the projects.

Billions for local transport and e-charging stations

In the coming years, around 110 billion dollars will flow into the expansion or renovation of roads and bridges.

Around 39 billion dollars are budgeted for local public transport, and another 66 billion dollars for the rail network.

Funds are also earmarked for expanding the charging stations for electric cars and for promoting electric buses.

A total of 42 billion dollars is calculated for ports and airports.

The package is also intended to finance the expansion of high-speed Internet connections and the improvement of the water supply, including the replacement of all lead pipes.

Around 65 billion dollars are also to flow into the modernization of the electricity infrastructure.

When he took office, Biden had presented plans for billion dollar investments in both the country's infrastructure and social security systems.

The infrastructure package had already passed the Senate in August after long negotiations.

But the final vote in the House of Representatives was still missing.

This was delayed enormously, as Democrats from the left wing of the party used the vote as leverage in the internal negotiations on the second, even larger package of investments in social and climate protection, which met with some resistance within the Democratic Party.

In view of the very narrow majority of the Democrats in both chambers of Congress, Biden is dependent on unity in his own ranks in order to implement his plans.

This was a problem for months.

Cutbacks in the social and climate package

The second trillion package provides for an expansion of social benefits in the country and large sums for the fight against the climate crisis - financed by tax increases for corporations and top earners as well as the more consistent collection of due duties.

Moderate Democrats, however, had raised concerns about the high spending and called for the package to be cut.

Left-wing democrats, who wanted to push through the largest possible investments in social and climate change, threatened to block the infrastructure package unless the larger second package was secured at the same time.

The stalemate between the party wings dragged on for months.

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dpa