Rice details impasse that almost derailed vote on infrastructure bill, and how it was solved

WASHINGTON — A standoff between a small group of moderate Democrats, including Long Island Rep. Kathleen Rice, and the party’s progressive caucus on Friday delayed, and nearly derailed, a final vote on the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

But after the two blocs met and tamped down their mutual mistrust, the House passed the first major infrastructure bill in decades in a 228-to-206 bipartisan vote late Friday night, backed by 13 Republicans but opposed by six Democrats. The bill awaits the president’s signature.

"Once we all got in the room," Rice told Newsday in a phone interview Saturday, "we worked it out and we are in a good place right now."

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Friday morning that the House would vote on the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act and the infrastructure bill, the drama began. "She came up against a pretty intransigent wall of moderate members," Rice said.

The five moderates and the progressives with scores of votes put Pelosi in a bind, because she can afford to lose only three Democratic votes to pass legislation without Republican support.

Rice said she and the other moderates, including New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, told Pelosi they would not vote for the Build Back Better Act until the Congressional Budget Office confirmed the White House top-line cost estimates.

The progressives, led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, responded that they would not vote for the infrastructure bill until after the House passed the Build Back Better Act, which includes massive funding for social safety net programs and climate initiatives.

The two sides began meeting, without an intermediary, throughout the day. The moderates proposed a solution, Rice said. The House would vote on infrastructure first, then a procedural rule that would allow the chamber to take up the Build Back Better Act.

"Not only that, but I went a little further with a number of my colleagues and worked with the Progressive Caucus to come up with a statement that proved that we were serious about considering the BBB," Rice said, using shorthand for the Build Back Better Act.

The statement said the moderates committed to passing the bill during the week of Nov. 15 if the Congressional Budget Office matched White House estimates, or work out any discrepancies if they occur and pass it.

Rice said a "trust deficit" had arisen when House leaders canceled two promised votes on infrastructure and when Senate objections forced the House to slash the $3.5 billion Build Back Act in half. "That created a very toxic environment," she said.

But after a long day of negotiations, the House passed both the infrastructure bill and a rule to proceed to the Build Back Better Act.

Long Island Democrats Rice of Garden City, Thomas Suozzi of Glen Cove and Gregory Meeks of St. Albans, and Republican Andrew Garbarino of Bayport, voted for the bill. Republican Lee Zeldin of Shirley, who is running for New York governor, voted no.