Tennessee Senators Bill Hagarty and Marsha Blackburn on Tuesday voted against President Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure bill. However, it passed 69-30 as all Democrats and 19 Republicans were in favor.
Officials said the plan would send $633 million to Tennessee over a five-year period for improving public transit options. It would also include $5.8 billion to repair highways in Tennessee and another $302 for bridge repairs in the state. That would also come over a five-year period.
Senator Hagarty, who earlier tried to stall a vote on the bill, said, “This infrastructure package has been sold as completely paid-for. It’s not. According to the nonpartisan CBO, it will increase the deficit by at least $256 billion.
"In addition, President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Schumer have repeatedly stated that enactment of this bill depends on enactment of Senator Bernie Sanders’ $3.5 trillion pathway to socialism, to which Democrats will now immediately turn. I didn’t make many friends this weekend in Congress, but I didn’t come here to make friends. I came to fight for Tennesseans and the American taxpayer.”
Senator Blackburn said, "Tennesseans are all for legislation focused on roads and bridges, but the Democrat spending spree is far from that. Joe Biden has allowed his party to mortgage our children's future by forcing through a bill that will add at least $256 billion to the deficit. The infrastructure bill is not paid for and will take even more money out of Tennesseans' hard-earned paychecks."