Lawyers representing families of victims and survivors of the condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, last June have told a judge that they've reached a nearly $1 billion tentative settlement.

Harley S. Tropin is a lawyer representing the plaintiffs. He announced the settlement during a hearing on Wednesday before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman. Still pending final approval, the settlement involves insurance companies, developers of an adjacent building and other defendants.

“I’m shocked by this result — I think it’s fantastic,” Hanzman said. “This is a recovery that is far in excess of what I had anticipated.”

Earlier this year, Hanzman had approved an $83 million settlement to compensate people who suffered economic losses such as condominium units and personal property, the Associated Press reported.

The 12-story building called the Champlain Towers South condominium collapsed suddenly in the early-morning hours on June 24 and almost instantly destroyed dozens of individual condo units, burying victims under tons of rubble. Rescuers worked for weeks digging through mountains of concrete to find survivors, then later to recover the remains of those who died. A total of 98 people were killed.

ODESSA, Texas — When the pandemic started, Michelle Villegas was in 6th grade. Now she's finishing up middle school, but not without some unpleasant memories from remote middle school.

"The tests would just, it would just load and load and load. Like I hated seeing that circle was just, it was in my nightmares, the circle!" she said.

The nightmarish loading circle is something that so many families across the nation can relate to as the pandemic exposed a weak link in rural America’s access to the internet. Michelle's mom says her heart broke watching her daughter struggle just to simply join a class.

"It was stressful, it was overwhelming, it was frustrating," she said.

The Villegas live on the outskirts of Odessa, Texas – a boom or bust oil town that’s one of many spots on the map without access to reliable internet.

According to the FCC, 6% of the country’s population lacks internet access. Narrowing in on rural communities, one in four lacks access – that’s 14.5 million people.

"I couldn't get on and I would call my mom crying because I was like, mom, I'm going to fail this. Like, my grades are so low because I can't do this," Michelle recounted.

Scott Muri is the superintendent in Ector County, where Odessa is located. When the pandemic hit and they had to move to remote learning over the course of a weekend, they found that 39% of their student body lived in areas with inadequate internet or no internet at all.

"Many of our kids do not live in an area of our community, that even if they had the money, they could access the internet, it's simply didn't exist," said Muri.

With that large of a percentage of students that couldn’t log on for remote school, they had to think of solutions. So they decided to shoot their shot and contacted SpaceX to be a part of their Starlink internet access pilot project and the multi-billion dollar company said yes.

"This big dad started to cry because he understood as a parent, what that a simple little dish was going to mean for his children because he had watched his kids struggle mightily to connect with their teachers," he said.

What Ector County has is a unique public-private partnership. However, federal dollars will trickle into tackling this same issue nationwide. $45 billion dollars from the infrastructure bill is going toward equitable broadband access.

"I think we need to appreciate broadband as a utility. You know, it is not a special thing that only certain people have. It is not something that you earn through wealth. It is something that is a right and a privilege and an opportunity for every American," he said.

Next year, Michelle is entering high school and both her and her mom are relieved to have reliable service because it will help put her on an equal playing field for the rest of her education.

"Everything is technology now. And if you don't have a good internet source, you're not going to be caught up with everything that's happening now. Like you're going to be left in the past," said Michelle.

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — Ask Larry Johnson about May 14th, 2019 and he will take you back.

“I remember it so clearly," he says.

The video is hard to forget. Cameras caught the exact moment the Lake Dunlap Dam broke.

The dam broke two miles upstream from Johnson’s home.

“It was everything was brown and scorched it was a war zone," Johnson remembers.

Behind Johnson's home, what used to be the bottom of the lake now looks like a yard.

Within hours of the dam's failure, Lake Dunlap's water level dropped around 7 feet.

“Right now, we would be 8 feet underwater," he says as we stand below his boat ramp and look up to his diving board.

The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority in Texas blamed the 90-year-old dam's aging steel for the failure that luckily didn't kill anyone.

Johnson says he knew with the dam's age it was at risk of failing, but still couldn't believe It actually happened.

"I mean, who would?” Johnson asks.

The Lake Dunlap dam's failure is one of roughly 40 that have happened in the past decade according to U.S. Society on Dams' President and civil engineer, Del Shannon.

“It’s distressing. We have the ability to fix these things and a limited amount of resources to do that," Shannon says.

Shannon says the average age of America's 91,000 dams is 60 years old, as the dams get older they require more upkeep. 

Shannon graded our nation’s dams for the American Society of Civil Engineers' Infrastructure Report card. It comes out every four years.

While he says most of the dams that have failed were small, cases like what happened in Michigan in 2020 when two dams failed and wiped out 150 homes is why he gave our nation's dams a "D."

"I gave them a D because I’m a pretty harsh grader for one, but I don’t think any dam should fail," Shannon says.

About $3 billion of the bipartisan infrastructure law is going to dam-related projects in hopes of changing that. He says that’s a start, but more money is needed.

It will take more than $75 billion to refurbish the more than 88,000 non-federal dams across the country according to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials.

“That’s the problem with the whole infrastructure challenge. Is that until something like this happens it’s just not real," Johnson says.

Today, construction is underway on a new dam on Lake Dunlap.

Johnson says Texas lawmakers failed to pass a bill to pay for the project so, he and his neighbors formed the Lake Dunlap Water Control and Improvement District, a government entity, that has the power to raise taxes with voter approval.

Voters in the district supported raising property taxes to pay the $40 million to pay for the new dam.

“None of us would accept no for an answer," Johnson said about finding a way to rebuild the dam.

Johnson expects the dam to be in operation summer of 2023.

When it does his water will rise to where it was three years ago and for the life that comes with it to return for years to come.

“I think it’s going to be like what it was where your grandkids startup at the back door and gallop all the way down and leap into the water," Johnson says.

DENVER, Colo. — Jonathon Stalls knows the dangers of being a pedestrian in Denver. In the winter, he has to walk through mud and snow alongside busy streets.

"You have engineering that has long, long, been centering high-speed car traffic as the priority," he said.

Jonathon became an advocate for safer streets after he walked across the entire country. He now documents what he says are fatal flaws in infrastructure that are a symptom of generations of prioritizing car travel on social media under the name "Pedestrian Dignity."

The Governors Highway Safety Association says pedestrian traffic deaths have been rising steadily since 2010, increasing faster than all other kinds of traffic deaths. Last year, was a record-breaking year.

The association estimates that 7,485 pedestrians were killed last year, an 11.5% increase from 2020.

It fits into the larger picture of America’s unsafe roads. Nearly 43,000 people died on roads last year, a sharp 10.5% spike from 2020. About 17% of those deaths were pedestrians.

"Our city streets were designed primarily to move cars, to move as many cars as fast as possible with pedestrians, bicyclists, people trying to access their transit system, basically an afterthought," said Jill Locantore, the executive director of Denver Street Partnerships.

Locantore works to connect lawmakers with changemakers to make sure pedestrians are heard. She says the conversations her group is having are being echoed in cities nationwide

"Pedestrians and bicyclists are the most vulnerable and the most likely to be hit and killed in a crash, but our streets are unsafe for everybody. There's a lot of drivers and passengers of cars that are dying in preventable traffic crashes as well," she said.

It seems the federal government is listening. At the end of October, the U.S. Department of Transportation released a set of guidelines on how to create safer streets for pedestrians, hoping cities will use some of the $9 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law to improve streets with pedestrians and cyclists in mind.

Stalls, who wrote a book on how to invite people into the conversation of changing streets, says a good place to start is exposing more lawmakers and drivers to the realities that pedestrians face.

"Consider replacing some of your car trips if you're a driver so that you can have just awareness and be an agent of community and change for how you vote, how you might organize, how you support people," he said.

SHELBY, Mt. — A veteran of the oil industry, Curtis Shuck is on a new path these days: cleaning up the mess left behind by orphaned wells.

"I was raised in a family where we had a principle of leave it better than the way you found it, and so I just, I couldn't just fathom that this was left behind and that people thought that it was okay," he said.

Orphaned wells are oil or natural gas wells that have been abandoned by companies for one reason or another. Like a straw stuck into a juice box, these wells have been left open, many for decades, and are leaking toxins, like methane gas, into the environment.

"Many of these have no control at the surface. You see it’s literally just an open hole at the surface," he said, showing an orphaned well from the 1920's in a field outside of Shelby, Montana.

This is why he started the Well Done foundation, a nonprofit that uses donations to find, measure, report and plug up orphaned wells. It's a process that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

"It was always everybody's dirty little secret. Nobody wanted to talk about it because it was a black eye on the industry, a black eye on the regulatory agencies," said Shuck.

But now, the problem of orphaned wells is becoming too big to be ignored. It’s hard to get exact numbers because the previous owners of the wells are defunct, but the environmental protection agency estimates there are at least 2.1 million wells across the united states.

From California to New York, at least half of the states in America have clusters of abandoned wells.

"Orphan Wells themselves are somewhere between a 10th of a percent and a third of a percent of the U.S. climate footprint," said Adam Peltz, senior attorney with the Environmental Defense Funs.

He said that along with being a leaker of methane gas, orphaned wells are also tied to ground water contamination and air toxins.

"That potentially has public health ramifications impacts on property values, which have impacts downstream on like school funding and stuff like that," he said.

The infrastructure bill that’s been made law has set aside $250 million to plug wells. Peltz says the money will be able to plug 80-100,000 wells. It’s a dent but he believes more needs to be done.

"We need to figure out how to adjust policies so that those wells can be plugged in a timely fashion at the end of their lives," said Peltz.

Meanwhile, Curtis and Well Done have been in communication with different states about best practices to plug orphaned wells, hopefully inspiring others to join the effort to put a cap on this issue.

WASHINGTON —

The House approved a $1 trillion package of road and other infrastructure projects late Friday after Democrats resolved a months-long standoff between progressives and moderates, notching a victory that President Joe Biden and his party had become increasingly anxious to claim.

The House passed the measure 228-206. About a dozen Republicans supported it, while about half as many Democrats opposed it.

Approval of the legislation, which would create legions of jobs and improve broadband, water supplies and other public works, whisked it to the desk of a president whose approval ratings have dropped and whose nervous party got a cold shoulder from voters in this week's off-year elections.

Democratic gubernatorial candidates were defeated in Virginia and squeaked through in New Jersey, two blue-leaning states. Those setbacks made party leaders — and moderates and progressives alike — impatient to produce impactful legislation and demonstrate they know how to govern. Democrats can also ill afford to seem in disarray a year before midterm elections that could result in Republicans regaining congressional control.

Simply freeing up the infrastructure measure for final congressional approval was like a burst of adrenaline for Democrats. Yet despite the win, Democrats endured a setback when they postponed a vote on a second, even larger measure until later this month.

That 10-year, $1.85 trillion measure bolstering health, family and climate change programs was sidetracked after moderates demanded a cost estimate on the sprawling measure from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The postponement dashed hopes that the day would produce a double-barreled win for Biden with passage of both bills.

But in an evening breakthrough brokered by Biden and House leaders, the moderates later agreed to back that bill if CBO's estimates are consistent with preliminary numbers that White House and congressional tax analysts have provided. The agreement, in which lawmakers promised to vote on the social and environment bill by the week of Nov. 15, stood as a significant step toward a House vote that could ultimately ship it to the Senate.

In exchange, progressives agreed to back the infrastructure measure, which they'd spent months holding hostage in an effort to pressure moderates to back the social and environment measure.

"As part of this agreement, at the request of the President, and to ensure we pass both bills through the House, progressives will advance" both bills Friday night, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, in a statement.

The White House issued a statement from Biden on Friday night aimed at reinforcing the accord. "I am urging all members to vote for both the rule for consideration of the Build Back Better Act and final passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill tonight," he said, using the administration's name for the two measures. "I am confident that during the week of November 15, the House will pass the Build Back Better Act."

When party leaders announced earlier in the day that the social and environment measure would be delayed, the scrambled plans cast a fresh pall over the party.

Democrats have struggled for months to take advantage of their control of the White House and Congress by advancing their top priorities. That's been hard, in part because of Democrats' slender majorities, with bitter internal divisions forcing House leaders to miss several self-imposed deadlines for votes.

"Welcome to my world," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters, adding, "We are not a lockstep party."

The president and first lady Jill Biden delayed plans to travel Friday evening to their house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Instead, Biden spoke to House leaders, moderates and progressives, said a White House official who described the conversations on condition of anonymity.

Among those Biden reached was Jayapal, whose caucus has been at the forefront of delaying the infrastructure measure for leverage. Biden asked her and her 95-member group to back the bill, said a person who recounted the conversation only on condition of anonymity.

Progressives have long demanded that the two massive bills be voted on together to pressure moderates to support the larger, more expansive social measure.

Democrats' day fell apart when after hours of talks, a half-dozen moderates insisted they would vote against the sprawling package of health, education, family and climate change initiatives unless the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office first provided its cost estimate for the measure.

Democratic leaders have said that would take days or more. With Friday's delay and lawmakers' plans to leave town for a week's break, those budget estimates could well be ready by the time a vote is held.

When the infrastructure measure cleared the Senate, its GOP supporters even included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The package would provide huge sums for highway, mass transit, broadband, airport, drinking and waste water, power grids and other projects.

But it became a pawn in the long struggle for power between progressives and moderates. Earlier Friday, Jayapal said the White House and Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation had provided all the fiscal information lawmakers needed for the broad bill.

"If our six colleagues still want to wait for a CBO score, we would agree to give them that time — after which point we can vote on both bills together," she wrote. That strongly suggested that some progressives were ready to vote against the infrastructure bill.

But that changed after the two Democratic factions reached their agreement.

House passage of the social and environment package would send it to the Senate, where it faces certain changes and more Democratic drama. That's chiefly because of demands by Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to contain the measure's costs and curb or drop some of its initiatives.

Moderates have forced leaders to slash the roughly 2,100-page measure to around half its original $3.5 trillion size. Republicans oppose it as too expensive and damaging to the economy.

The package would provide large numbers of Americans with assistance to pay for health care, raising children and caring for elderly people at home. The package would provide $555 billion in tax breaks encouraging cleaner energy and electric vehicles. Democrats added provisions in recent days restoring a new paid family leave program and work permits for millions of immigrants.

Much of the package's cost would be covered with higher taxes on wealthier Americans and large corporations.

Moderate opposition and strict Senate rules about what can be included in the massive bill suggest that the family leave program and the immigration provisions may be dropped in that chamber.

___

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Farnoush Amiri, Kevin Freking, Aamer Madhani, Alexandra Jaffe, Mary Clare Jalonick and Brian Slodysko contributed to this report.

With a debt ceiling crisis punted until December, Democrats are turning their sights back to their own agenda, a move that will shake the party's resolve and test whether it can make hard choices and compromise a reality.

Already, Democrats have struggled to contain bitter infighting between their moderate and progressive wings, divisions that stopped the House from passing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill to rebuild the country's roads and bridges in recent weeks, a battle that still threatens to derail President Joe Biden's agenda overall. Another poor jobs report Friday rattled the White House, putting even more pressure on Democrats to deliver a win for the President.

Democrats are grumbling within their ranks about how much to slim down their $3.5 trillion social safety net bill, and members have conflicting views about which programs are most important to the future of the country and the party. A debate also is emerging about how much to focus on the legislation.

The conflict has only grown as Democrats wait on pins and needles to see how much their moderate colleagues, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, will be willing to spend on Biden's signature legislation. The two members have come under fire by some who say they are obstructing progress.

"When you got 48 people on one side and you have overwhelmingly strong numbers from the American people on one side, and you got the President of the United States on one side, it is simply not fair, not right, that one or two people say, 'My way or the highway,' " said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, on Friday.

But there is a slow and growing reality that in order to pass Biden's larger social safety net bill through the Senate, Democrats will have to shrink their price tag, begging the questions of which programs they will choose to cut.

The original $3.5 trillion package contained a wish list of Democratic promises including a paid family leave program, child care assistance, an expanded child tax credit and a reimagination of the U.S. tax code that shifts the burden of taxes to the wealthy and businesses.

Democrats also want to expand Medicare to provide dental and hearing coverage in the existing program and shore up Obamacare by boosting Medicaid coverage for states that didn't expand the program and increasing subsidies for Americans.

Not everything can be preserved. Members and aides point out that the hard-fought discussions about what stays and what goes are just getting underway and the process could be messy and tumultuous. This week, Democrats in the Senate were given handouts laying out how much various programs cost, an effort to focus the discussion about where the party should go with a more limited bill.

Tough choices

Democrats say they are now facing a choice. They could choose to keep many of the programs but limit the investment they make in them or have them expire sooner. Some progressives are betting that strategy could create a world where public pressure down the road would keep the programs renewed even after funding lapsed.

"As far as I am concerned all of these programs are things the American public and families have been waiting for ... and so I would like to see all of them get funded to some extent so we can get going," said Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. "At some point they all become the fabric of our country."

Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, told CNN that after a caucus meeting this week, progressives unified around the idea that if the cost of the package has to come down -- which all signs suggest it will -- then the goal is to keep all programs in the package but shorten the amount of time each one is funded.

"That was really important to our members," Jayapal told CNN. "I communicated that to the White House directly."

One option progressives aren't open to is means-testing or narrowing who qualifies for programs, a strategy Manchin has advocated. Jayapal's team put together a memorandum, obtained by CNN, that was sent to the White House and all members of the progressive caucus on Thursday that outlined why such provisions should not be in the final version of the bill.

"They disproportionately exclude the most vulnerable," the five-page memorandum reads, listing one of the many reasons the caucus is against means-testing and work requirements. "They delay the delivery of benefits and increase the burden on the very applicants they are designed to serve."

Other members want to go in a different direction.

Many moderates are hoping that Democrats will choose to narrow their agenda and invest in fewer programs to help focus the message.

Should they go with a smaller number of programs or "more things for less time or with fewer people?" said Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota. "That's the debate we are going through."

Smith argued that Democrats may be better served by investing more in less, citing an example of child care that will matter to families only if they feel like the benefit is robust enough to make a difference in their daily lives.

"If you don't do it in a big enough way, it's not going to make more than a ripple of difference," Smith said.

Multiple members told CNN that they expect the tough conversations are just in their infancy as the party struggles to contain and rein in legislation that became a kind of legislative Christmas tree of Democratic priorities.

Jayapal says progressives are still waiting to know where things stand.

"I know that those negotiations are happening, but I don't think that they're at a place where there's any agreement or any kind of final thing that we can hang our hats on and start to discuss whether or not that's sufficient for us," Jayapal told CNN. "So it's an ongoing process."

But Jayapal added that the strategy her caucus upheld of linking the infrastructure bill to the social safety net package is what she believes kick-started negotiations between the White House and the two Democratic senators who remain holdouts into high gear.

"Until we said we weren't going to vote for the infrastructure bill without the reconciliation bill, there was no conversation from those two senators about what they didn't like or what they did like," Jayapal said. "That only happened because we linked the two bills together."

For the leaders in the party -- many of whom are in their 70s and 80s -- the measure marks a pinnacle in their careers, an opportunity to pass legislation they've spent decades working toward. For Sanders, an expansion of Medicare is a top priority. For House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, shoring up Obamacare is crucial. House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, has worked to expand the child tax credit, while others have spent decades fighting for paid family leave.

But for members who are facing reelection in tough districts, their message to leaders has been to focus on just a handful of things that the party could execute well.

"We need to get to a top number, and then what I would prefer is fewer programs for a longer period of time," said Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana. "But all of that is negotiable."

Asked if there was a risk in trying to do too much and explain to people what is inside, Tester said, "Absolutely."

"There are like 17 different things in this bill that are game-changers, and there is a risk of that," he continued.

Jayapal thinks it is too early to be making immediate concessions just to get something done.

"The something vs. nothing discussion, to me, it's way too early to have that discussion. That's something that happens at the end of a negotiation when you really fought for something," Jayapal said. "And the truth is, there was five months of negotiation on the infrastructure bill. And there's been really no negotiation on the Build Back Better Act."

Biden tends to front-liners

While nearly every vote matters in Democrats' razor-thin majorities, Biden has taken extra care to tend to his party's most vulnerable members, promising in private meetings to deliver wins for their reelection campaigns and even offering to visit their districts to help sell his social safety net package.

Biden kicked off a virtual meeting with so-called "front-line" House Democrats this week by acknowledging that these members will face some of the most competitive reelection races in the country next year, and he stressed that it's imperative to ensure their needs and concerns are heard throughout the negotiating process.

"The President made it perfectly clear that part of his agenda is to make sure that we get some wins out of this bill, and that they will be things that we can run on," said Rep. Susan Wild, a Pennsylvania Democrat who participated in the meeting.

The virtual meeting came just hours before Biden traveled to a Michigan district represented by Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a key swing district carried by Donald Trump in 2020. Biden also offered to visit other front-line distrcits, a proposition that several members agreed would be helpful, according to lawmakers who participated in the meeting.

"He's still in an effort to try to bring the House together and push us to vote for this historic bill," said Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who represents a competitive district along the Texas border. "The urgencies for every member are different. ... We're living in a big tent in the Democratic Party right now."

"He also realizes that getting this done is important for competitive races, and getting it done in a timely fashion that by next election, the American people will see shovels in the ground," Gonzalez added of Biden.

The President has also been able to keep progressives feeling validated and a part of the process. Jayapal pointed to Biden's visit to the House last week as important to reinforce the position that progressives have held all along.

While party leaders need progressives to get on board as much as the moderates, there is also a recognition that front-line Democrats have the most to lose if their party fails to deliver on Biden's economic agenda. Whether these members keep their seats -- and with it, control of the House majority -- may hinge on whether and what type of legislation Democrats are able to pass.

With that dynamic in mind, Biden -- who has been in "listening mode" and was seen scribbling on a notepad during his virtual meeting with moderates, according to attendees -- asked front-line members to list their top preferences for the economic bill. The priorities they named included drug pricing, child care and community college.

Where things stand with the price tag

Biden, along with Pelosi, has made clear to members that the cost of the social safety net package needs to be scaled down.

On Monday, Pelosi wrote in a letter that Biden "indicated that we would be working with a lower topline number, and decisions must therefore be made regarding the size and scope of the reconciliation bill."

Biden has reportedly been steering the original $3.5 trillion to land somewhere in the $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion range. Manchin has said he'd like to see the package cost $1.5 trillion.

Although Jayapal confirmed to CNN that she had told Biden on Monday that she thought his range of $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion "was too small," she said she is not moving forward in negotiations with a specific number in mind but wants to keep it "as close to" the $3.5 trillion version of the package that has been marked up in the House as possible.

"I don't have a number. I told the President I thought 1.9 (trillion) to 2.2 (trillion) was too small in order to get all of our priorities in," she said.

Progressive freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones of New York told CNN that the conversation about the top line for the package is premature.

"We start with needing Manchin and Sinema to tell us what things they want to cut from the $3.5 trillion," Jones said.

In his meeting with front-liners, Biden asked those who have a top-line number to state it, but no one did.

"He made it clear we're never going to get to $3.5 trillion, and it's probably somewhere in the middle," Gonzalez said.

Don't expect any 200 mph trains that rival Europe and Asia's best, or even cheaper fares.

Transportation experts think the infrastructure bill could be the start of a turning point for the disadvantaged state of U.S. rail travel. But the bill doesn't change the fallout of Americans looking past rail for generations. Deep barriers remain to rail travel thriving in the U.S. as in other leading nations.

Attention on passenger rail increased with the election of President Joe Biden. He has long had the nickname "Amtrak Joe" for his regular rail commutes back to Wilmington to take care of his two sons after his first wife and one of his children were killed in a car crash. He was also involved in an Obama-era push for high-speed rail.

Passenger and freight rail receive $66 billion in the infrastructure bill the Senate passed last week. But the details are still up for negotiations in the House before the bill hits Biden's desk.

Regardless, any number close to $66 billion will be a large infusion of cash for an industry that's watched its competitors — road and air travel — receive overwhelmingly more government aid. Rather than compete on a level playing field with other transportation modes, American passenger rail has had to fight off attempts from multiple presidents to slash its funding.

"Amtrak was set up to fail," Robert Puentes, CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation told CNN Business. "It wasn't designed to last as long as it has."

This means that money has to be spent now just to bring it back to its baseline.

Most new funding will be for maintenance, rather than the futuristic high-speed trains that riders in Europe and Asia have enjoyed for decades. The White House has said there are 5,000 rail cars and thousands of miles of track, signal and power systems in need of replacement. Amtrak has said it needs $38 billion to reach a state of good repair in the Northeast corridor.

"This is an improve the status quo bill," said Jim Mathews, CEO of the Rail Passengers Association. "Passengers won't have to bring Velcro and duct tape to repair their own train cars."

A world-class railroad remains out of reach

Rail advocates, including Biden, have long touted the vast potential they see in passenger rail.

"You and your family could travel coast to coast without a single tank of gas on board a high-speed train," Biden said earlier this year. He's also spoken of the potential of trains going 220 mph between Atlanta and Charlotte or making trips between D.C. and New York in 92 minutes if three curves along the route are straightened.

Train travel can make getting around the U.S. safer, greener and more efficient, advocates say. Rail travel has less environmental impact than other ways of getting around. Rail also has a better safety record than motor vehicle travel.

But the full potential for world-class rail will still be unmet even with the additional spending. California's ongoing high-speed rail project has been estimated to cost $100 billion, a single project far exceeding the infrastructure package's entire new investment in rail.

The White House calls the new funding the largest federal investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak in 1970. But when considering inflation and population growth, it lags a spurt of rail investment in the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to Yonah Freemark, a researcher at the Urban Institute.

The $66 billion, which is mostly for Amtrak, will likely lead to more frequent service and more stops nationwide as well as new equipment. Choke points on the Northeast corridor, in Baltimore and New York, may be relieved, paving the way for faster trips.

Amtrak praised the investment in a statement, but also called on Congress to make sure it gets on-time performance and preference from the host rail lines that its trains run on. Amtrak risks delays and inconveniences because the freight railways can give top priority to their own trains, while Amtrak trains wait their turn.

Passenger rail improvements could be thwarted by freight railroads that own much of the tracks that Amtrak operates on, according to Mathews and other rail experts. They point to the $2 billion invested to upgrade Amtrak service between Chicago and St. Louis. Technology was installed so trains could run at 110 mph, which would cut about an hour off the trip. But safety technology that track owner Union Pacific installed isn't suited for trains going over 90 mph.

Short-lived boost, long-term issues

There's also a risk that Amtrak's improvements will be short-lived, as the new funds run out in five years.

Joseph C. Szabo, who led the Federal Railroad Administration until 2015, cautioned that rail has long seen investments in fits and starts, and will continue to be disadvantaged until it has predictable, dedicated funding, like roads and aviation.

"It's always been treated somewhat as a stepchild," Szabo said.

The rail industry was dominant in the 19th century and created America's first big businesses. But rail fell out of favor in the 20th century in America and was seen as antiquated. Henry Ford, the inventor of the Model T, once predicted that some up-and-coming nations like China would entirely skip rail and build highways and cars instead. (Ford's prediction didn't materialize, and China now has the largest high-speed rail network in the world.)

Private rail companies struggled to turn a profit on passenger rail service in the mid-20th century. They were hindered by federal government regulations that set prices, and could force railroads to continue to operate unprofitable routes. The U.S. government heavily subsidized rail's competitor, highways, with the largest public works project in history, the Interstate Highway System. Rail travel couldn't compete. After the large railroad company Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970, the US government created Amtrak to preserve passenger rail service. Passenger rail wasn't profitable, so private companies wanted no part in it.

Even a president with the nickname "Amtrak Joe" is proving not to be enough to overhaul the status quo.

The massive $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package is poised for a final vote in the Senate on Tuesday morning after clearing the last procedural hurdle following months of furious negotiations.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday evening that Republicans and Democrats have reached an agreement for final passage of the bill on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET. Once the bill passes the Senate, it will go to the House of Representatives.

"This is a very good day," Schumer said in floor remarks on Monday night. "We have come to an agreement after all the long hard negotiating, the stops and starts, we're here. And it's a good thing, a very good thing for America."

"The Senate can be proud it has passed this," he added. "And as we move forward we're proceeding on both tracks. The track of the bipartisan infrastructure proposal, and the track of the budget resolution with reconciliation instructions. On our side of the aisle, we know we need both tracks: one dealing with traditional infrastructure, one dealing with climate and the problems American families face."

Once the bipartisan bill has passed, the Senate will quickly shift their attention to the budget resolution, which needs to pass both chambers of Congress first before Democrats can move on their separate $3.5 trillion package, which they hope they can pass with Democratic votes.

Democrats unveiled that budget resolution on Monday. The budget resolution summary lays out Democrats' plan to invest in four major buckets: families, climate, health care, and infrastructure and jobs. It notably does not include an expansion of the US national debt, as Republicans have pushed Democrats to do.

As Senate Democrats released text of the budget resolution with reconciliation instructions on Monday morning, Schumer reiterated this "is the first step in unlocking the legislative process for a budget reconciliation bill later this year."

"The Democratic budget will the most significant legislation for American families since the era of the New Deal and the Great Society. It is big, bold change. The kind of change America thirsts for," he said.

Lawmakers have been inching toward a final vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill for days, considering 22 amendments to the package last week after the legislative text was finalized the previous weekend. On Saturday, the Senate voted to break a filibuster and advance the bill.

"We are within days, possibly within hours of seeing this historic legislation that's going to get us better roads and bridges, better ports and airports, a better future for our economy and creating millions of jobs," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Fox News on Sunday morning.

"We're on the cusp of seeing that move through the Senate."

The massive bipartisan infrastructure package, called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is the culmination of drawn-out and painstaking negotiations between a bipartisan group of senators and the Biden administration and will allow both parties to claim a win after extensive work across the aisle.

It features $550 billion in new federal spending over five years. The measure invests $110 billion in funding toward roads, bridges and major projects, $66 billion in passenger and freight rail, $65 billion to rebuild the electric grid, $65 billion to expand broadband Internet access, and $39 billion to modernize and expand transit systems.

Among many other priorities, the bill also includes $55 billion for water infrastructure, $15 billion of which will be directed toward replacing lead pipes.

And while senators are confident the bill will pass, the legislation faces an uncertain future in the House.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated that the chamber won't take up the bipartisan bill until Senate Democrats pass their larger social, environmental infrastructure package -- a position that continues to be met with criticism from Republicans and some moderate Democrats alike.

The GOP senators who support the bipartisan infrastructure bill note that there are major differences between their bill and the Democratic package. They say it's essential for Republicans to show that they're not just a knee-jerk opposition party and can instead find consensus on pressing national problems important to voters.

But a report from the Congressional Budget Office that found the bipartisan package will "add $256 billion to projected deficits" between 2021 and 2031 has complicated deliberations for some GOP senators.

Republican Sen. Todd Young, who initially endorsed the bipartisan deal and had previously voted to cut off debate, announced Sunday evening that he will vote against the bill. The Indiana Republican, who faces reelection next year, pointed to the CBO's scoring of the legislation and said he is not "comfortable with a number of the Democratic priorities contained in this version."

"As I've said many times, while I'm eager for a bill that makes these investments, I'm also committed to doing so in a fiscally responsible way," he said in a statement.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Republican whip who hasn't hadn't yet declared whether he's running for another term next year, hadn't ruled out as of last week supporting the bill on final passage. But he had a warning for the GOP.

"I think the politics work for both sides," Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said. "I think that if you're a Republican you want to prove that you're not just here to completely block and stop the entire agenda if you find areas that are good for, you know, the country and then you want to be a part of trying to solve those problems."

President Joe Biden praised the Senate on Friday for edging the bipartisan infrastructure plan closer to passage, ahead of a key vote on the $1 trillion package.

As the president spoke from the White House, he compared the “historic investment” to building the transcontinental railroad or the interstate highway system — lofty themes he has touched on before as he nudges Congress along.

"It will enable us not only to build back, but to build back better than before the economic crisis hit," he said. "I know that body will move toward establishing the framework for the remainder of my build back better agenda."

The president’s note of encouragement offers a reset for lawmakers after frustrations mounted and tempers flared overnight as the Senate stalled out, unable to expedite the package to completion.

SEE MORE: What's In The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill?

It’s nearing decision time for Congress, and particularly the Senate, to make gains on the president’s infrastructure priorities — first with the bipartisan bill that’s on track for passage as soon as this weekend, and quickly followed by Democrats' more sweeping $3.5 trillion budget blueprint they plan to shoulder on their own.

Called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the thick bill is a first part of President Biden’s infrastructure agenda and would inject billions of new spending on roads, bridges, waterworks, broadband and other projects to virtually every corner of the nation. 

If approved by the Senate, it would next go to the House. A procedural vote on the package is set for Saturday.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.

This story was originally reported by Jay Strubberg on Newsy.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The bipartisan infrastructure bill continues to progress in the United States Senate. A final vote could take place this weekend.

For months, you’ve heard politicians and transportation leaders make the case that now is the time to revolutionize train travel.

The bipartisan bill certainly allocates money in the direction of mass transit and Amtrak.

It invests $39 billion over five years into mass transit, like commuter trains and buses. It also allocates $66 billion for passenger rail, mostly Amtrak.

Both represent an unrepresented amount of funds for those transportation sectors.

But just how transformational is this bipartisan infrastructure deal when it comes to train travel? It depends on who you ask.

"If you ask the question, 'Is more needed?' Absolutely more is needed. Public transit has been underfunded for decades," Paul Skoutelas said.

Skoutelas is the President of the American Public Transportation Association. He advocates for more commuter trains and buses in neighborhoods like yours.

He says rough estimates have put the maintenance backlog for mass transit at $105 billion nationwide. This bill provides only $39 billion.

If the bill becomes law, balancing maintenance needs with the desire for new projects to transform commutes will be tricky.

"Is this enough investment? No, it’s not, but we will take it. It’s significantly important to get us in the right direction," Skoutelas said.

Those who lobby on behalf of Amtrak, though, see things a bit differently.

"Before we get to the financial numbers, what’s even more important are the policy changes," John Robert Smith said.

Smith is with Transportation for America and is a past chairman of the board of directors for Amtrak.

He says the infrastructure bill changes the mission of Amtrak dramatically. Instead of being looked at as a business by the government, it’s now considered a service responsible for connecting big cities with small towns.

"It's a fundamental change in what the mission has been over the last 10 years," Smith said.

But what about the Amtrak proposal released earlier this year to create new routes around the country like Las Vegas to Los Angeles or Colorado Springs to Denver?

"I think the funds provided in the Senate bipartisan bill are significant enough to make vast changes," Smith said.

But Smith thinks the Amtrak map proposal will quickly be redrawn if the infrastructure bill becomes law.

That’s because President Joe Biden, under the bill, will have the ability to appoint all new Amtrak board members who will likely reevaluate everything.

While Smith says this bill can create new routes. Don’t expect super-fast bullet trains like the ones in Japan. There just isn’t enough cash for that.

"You aren’t going to accomplish transformational high-speed rail in a five-year bill," Smith said.

The bipartisan bill does include funds to improve Acela speeds in the Northeast corridor.

While some say the bipartisan infrastructure deal could have included more money, many conservatives in Congress are frustrated because they believe the bill has too much government spending in it, raising the risk for inflation.

A recent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found the bill will contribute $256 billion to the deficit over the next decade.

After much delay, senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, wrapping up days of painstaking work on the inches-thick bill and launching what is certain to be a lengthy debate over President Joe Biden's big priority.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act clocked in at some 2,700 pages, and senators could begin amending it soon. Despite the hurry-up-and-wait during a rare weekend session, emotions bubbled over once the bill was produced Sunday night. The final product was not intended to stray from the broad outline senators had negotiated for weeks with the White House. 

"We haven't done a large, bipartisan bill of this nature in a long time," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He said a final vote could be held "in a matter of days." 

A key part of Biden's agenda, the bipartisan bill is the first phase of the president's infrastructure plan. It calls for $550 billion in new spending over five years above projected federal levels, what could be one of the more substantial expenditures on the nation's roads, bridges, waterworks, broadband, and the electric grid in years.

Senators and staff labored behind the scenes for days to write the massive bill. It was supposed to be ready Friday, but by Sunday, even more glitches were caught and changes made.

Late Sunday, most of the 10 senators involved in the bipartisan effort rose on the Senate floor to mark the moment.

"We know that this has been a long and sometimes difficult process, but we are proud this evening to announce this legislation," said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., a lead negotiator.

The bill showed "we can put aside our own political differences for the good of the country," she said.

Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, a Republican negotiator, said the final product will be "great for the American people."

Over the long weekend of starts and stops, Schumer repeatedly warned that he was prepared to keep lawmakers in Washington for as long as it took to complete votes on both the bipartisan infrastructure plan and a budget blueprint that would allow the Senate to begin work later this year on a massive, $3.5 trillion social, health and environmental bill.

Among the major new investments, the bipartisan package is expected to provide $110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit, and $66 billion for rail. There's also set to be $55 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure as well as billions for airports, ports, broadband internet, and electric vehicle charging stations.

The spending is broadly popular among lawmakers, bringing long-delayed capital for big-ticket items that cities and states can rarely afford on their own.

Paying for the package has been a challenge after senators rejected ideas to raise revenue from a new gas tax or other streams. Instead, it is being financed from funding sources that might not pass muster with deficit hawks, including repurposing some $205 billion in untapped COVID-19 relief aid, as well as unemployment assistance that was turned back by some states and relying on projected future economic growth.

"I've got real concerns with this bill," said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

Bipartisan support from Republican and Democratic senators pushed the process along, and Schumer wanted the voting to be wrapped up before senators left for the August recess.

Last week, 17 GOP senators joined all Democrats in voting to start work on the bipartisan bill. That support largely held, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voting yes in another procedural vote to nudge the process along in the 50-50 Senate, where 60 votes are needed to overcome a filibuster and advance legislation.

Whether the number of Republican senators willing to pass the bill grows or shrinks in the days ahead will determine if the president's signature issue can make it across the finish line.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he expects Schumer to allow all senators to have a chance to shape the bipartisan bill and allow for amendments from members of both parties.

"I hope we can now pump the brakes a little bit and take the time and care to evaluate the benefits and the cost of this legislation," Cornyn said.

The bipartisan bill still faces a rough road in the House, where progressive lawmakers want a more robust package but may have to settle for this one to keep Biden's infrastructure plans on track. 

The outcome with the bipartisan effort will set the stage for the next debate over Biden's much more ambitious $3.5 trillion package, a strictly partisan pursuit of far-reaching programs and services including child care, tax breaks, and health care that touch almost every corner of American life. Republicans strongly oppose that bill, which would require a simple majority for passage. Final votes on that measure are not expected until fall.

This story was originally published by Alex Livingston and Simon Kaufman at Newsy, with contributions from The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON —

The vote on a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill could be held "in a matter of days," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday, as negotiators scrambled to finish writing the legislation.

Schumer opened the rare Sunday session by saying that the text of the bill would be released "imminently."

Senators and staff have been laboring behind the scenes for days to write what is certain to be a massive piece of legislation. An early draft swelled beyond 2,500 pages. To prod the work along, Schumer is keeping senators in over the weekend, encouraging the authors of the bipartisan infrastructure plan to finish drafting the bill so that senators can begin offering amendments.

Two of the negotiators said Sunday morning that action could come soon. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said on CNN, "We really are just about finished." Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said on CNN that there will likely be "text today and by this evening, hopefully we can start the process.” Like Schumer, both said the bill could be finished this week.

The predictions were a familiar refrain after days of delays. Several senators had said the text of the bill would be ready for review late Friday or early Saturday, but it wasn't ready to be filed by the time Schumer closed the floor Saturday night.

"They need a little more time," Schumer said. "I'm prepared to give it to them."

Schumer, the majority leader, said he understood that completing the writing of such a large bill is a difficult project, but he warned Saturday that he was prepared to keep lawmakers in Washington for as long as it took to complete votes on both the bipartisan infrastructure plan and a budget blueprint that would allow the Senate to begin work later this year on a massive, $3.5 trillion social, health and environmental bill.

"The longer it takes to finish, the longer we will be here, but we’re going to get the job done," he said.

The bipartisan plan — a key part of President Joe Biden's agenda — calls for $550 billion in new spending over five years above projected federal levels. It’s being financed from funding sources that might not pass muster with deficit hawks, including repurposing untapped COVID-19 relief aid and relying on projected future economic growth.

Among the major investments are $110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit and $66 billion for rail. There’s also $55 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure as well as billions for airports, ports, broadband internet and electric vehicle charging stations.

A bipartisan group of senators helped it clear one more hurdle Friday and braced to see if support could hold during the next few days of debate and efforts to amend it.

Schumer wants the voting to be wrapped up before senators break for their August recess. He said that once the legislative text is finalized, he'll review it and offer it up as a substitute to the shell bill currently before the chamber. Then, senators can begin voting on amendments.

"We may need the weekend, we may vote on several amendments, but with the cooperation of our Republican colleagues, I believe we can finish the bipartisan infrastructure bill in a matter of days," Schumer said Friday night.

The outcome with the bipartisan effort will set the stage for the next debate over Biden’s much more ambitious $3.5 trillion spending package, a strictly partisan pursuit of far-reaching programs and services including child care, tax breaks and health care that touch almost every corner of American life. Republicans strongly oppose that bill, which would require a simple majority, and may try to stop both.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, predicted: "It's going to be a grind."

Earlier this week, 17 GOP senators joined all Democrats in voting to start the debate, launching what will be a days-long process to consider the bipartisan bill. That support largely held Friday during another procedural vote, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., again voting yes to nudge the process along.

Whether the number of Republican senators willing to pass the bill grows or shrinks in the days ahead will determine if the president’s signature issue can make it across the finish line.

Cornyn said he expects Schumer to allow all senators to have a chance to shape the bill and allow for amendments from members of both parties.

"I've been disappointed that Sen. Schumer has seen fit to try to force us to vote on a bill that does not exist in its entirety, but I hope we can now pump the brakes a little bit and take the time and care to evaluate the benefits and the cost of this legislation," Cornyn said.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Saturday that negotiators were finalizing the last few pieces, but he had no predictions when it would be ready for senators to have amendments and debate.

"There's been some of the sense of, well, infrastructure, that shouldn't be hard to do. If it wasn't hard to do, why has it taken 30 years to get to this moment?" Warner said.

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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON —

Video above: What's the deal with infrastructure?

Senate Republicans reached a deal with Democrats on Wednesday over major outstanding issues in a $1 trillion infrastructure package, ready to begin consideration of a key part of President Joe Biden's agenda. An evening test vote was possible.

Lead GOP negotiator Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio made the announcement at the Capitol, flanked by four other Republican senators who have been in talks with Democrats and the White House on the bipartisan package.

"We now have an agreement on the major issues," Portman said. "We are prepared to move forward."

Asked about the agreement during a tour of a truck plant in Pennsylvania, Biden expressed approval.

"I feel confident about it," he said.

For days, senators and the White House have worked to salvage the bipartisan deal, a key part of Biden's agenda.

The outcome will set the stage for the next debate over Biden’s much more ambitious $3.5 trillion spending package, a strictly partisan pursuit of far-reaching programs and services including child care, tax breaks and health care that touch almost every corner of American life, and that Republicans strongly oppose.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer opened the Senate on Wednesday announcing a possible test vote on the bipartisan package in the evening. It will require 60 votes in the evenly split 50-50 Senate to proceed to consideration, meaning support from both parties. That would launch a potentially long process to consider the bill, and any possible amendments.

Republican senators met Wednesday morning with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, who appears to have given his nod to proceed. Portman said McConnell "all along has been encouraging our efforts."

Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona, a lead Democratic negotiator, said she expected the package would have enough support to move forward.

Sinema said she spoke with Biden Wednesday and he was "very excited" to have an agreement.

Democrats, who have slim control of the House and Senate, face a timeline to act on what would be some of the most substantial pieces of legislation in years.

The bipartisan package includes about $600 billion in new spending on highways, bridges, transit, broadband, water systems and other public works projects.

Filling in the details has become a month-long exercise ever since the senators struck an agreement with Biden more than a month ago over the broad framework. There remains work to do as they draft the legislative text.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who has been central to talks, said, "That doesn’t mean every 't' is crossed, every ‘i’ dotted, but on the major issues we are there."

Republican senators sparred at their closed-door lunch Tuesday, one side arguing against doing anything that would smooth the way for the Democrats’ broader bill, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting. Others spoke in favor of the bipartisan package.

A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC found 8 in 10 Americans favor some increased infrastructure spending.

House Democrats have their own transportation bill, which includes much more spending to address rail transit, electric vehicles and other strategies to counter climate change.

At a private meeting of House Democrats on Tuesday, Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, called the Senate's bipartisan measure complete "crap," according to two Democrats who attended the session and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe it.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not commit to supporting the bipartisan package until she sees the details, but said Wednesday she's "rooting for it."

Pelosi said, "I very much want it to pass."

Senators in the bipartisan group have been huddling privately for weeks. The group includes 10 core negotiators, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, but has swelled at times to 22.

Transit funding has remained a stubborn dispute, as Republican senators are wary of formalizing what has been a typical formula for the Highway Trust Fund allotting around 80% for highways and 20% for transit.

Most Republican senators come from rural states where highways dominate and public transit is scarce, while Democrats view transit as a priority for cities and a key to easing congesting and fighting climate change. Democrats don't want to see the formula dip below its typical threshold.

Expanding access to broadband. which has become ever more vital for households during the coronavirus pandemic, sparked a new debate. Republicans pushed back against imposing regulations on internet service providers in a program that helps low-income people pay for service.

Sinema said transit and broadband were the remaining issues being finished up Wednesday.

Democrats also have been insisting on a prevailing-wage requirement, not just for existing public works programs but also for building new roads, bridges, broadband and other infrastructure, but it's not clear that will make the final package.

Still unclear is how to pay for the bipartisan package after Democrats rejected a plan to bring in funds by hiking the gas tax drivers pay at the pump and Republicans dashed a plan to boost the IRS to go after tax scofflaws.

Funding could come from repurposing COVID relief aid, reversing a Trump-era pharmaceutical rebate and other streams. It's possible the final deal could run into political trouble if it doesn't pass muster as fully paid for when the Congressional Budget Office assesses the details.

Portman said the package will be "more than paid for."

Meanwhile, Democrats are readying the broader $3.5 trillion package that is being considered under budget rules that allow passage with 51 senators in the split Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to break a tie. It would be paid for by increasing the corporate tax rate and the tax rate on Americans earning more than $400,000 a year.

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Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Josh Boak in Washington and Tali Arbel in New York contributed to this report.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — America’s infrastructure has scored near-failing grades for its deteriorating roads, public transit and storm water systems due to years of inaction from the federal government, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

In its “Infrastructure Report Card” released Wednesday, the group gave the nation an overall C- grade and called for “big and bold” relief to fix things.

The ASCE study evaluated 17 categories of infrastructure, with grades ranging from a B for rail to a D- for Transit.

“For the first time in 20 years, the country's infrastructure as a whole received a grade in the C range, meaning on average, the nation's infrastructure is in mediocre condition, has deficiencies and needs attention,” wrote ASCE in a press release.

However, 11 of the 17 categories in the “Report Card” received a grade in the D range: aviation, dams, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, public parks, roads, schools, stormwater, transit, and wastewater.

Over the past four years, the U.S. made incremental gains in some categories, according to the "Report Card." Due to increased investment, grades improved in aviation, drinking water, energy, inland waterways, and ports.

The ASCE estimates it would cost $5.9 trillion over the next decade to bring roads, bridges and airports to a safe and sustainable level. That’s about $2.6 trillion more than what government and the private sector already spend.

If the U.S. does not pay its overdue infrastructure bill, ASCE says by 2039, the U.S. economy will lose $10 trillion in growth and exports will decline by $2.4 trillion. Additionally, the group says more than 3 million jobs will be lost in 2039 and each American household will bear $3,300 in hidden costs per year.

President Joe Biden has said the nation's infrastructure is a priority of his and he campaigned on rebuilding it in a sustainable way that would create jobs. It could also present an opportunity for Democrats to work with Republicans, since both parties have complained about lack of progress on the issue. Much of that work will fall on Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was nominated by Biden to lead the Department of Transportation.

WASHINGTON —

The bipartisan infrastructure deal senators brokered with President Joe Biden is hanging precariously ahead of a crucial Wednesday test vote as they struggle over how to pay for nearly $1 trillion in public works spending.

Tensions were rising as Republicans prepared to mount a filibuster over what they see as a rushed and misguided process. With Biden preparing to hit the road to rally support for his big infrastructure ideas — including some $3.5 trillion in a follow-up bill — restless Democrats say it's time to at least start debate on this first phase of his proposals.

"It is not a fish or cut bait moment," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday, describing the procedural vote as just a first step to "get the ball rolling" as bipartisan talks progress.

Six months after Biden took office, his signature "Build Back Better" campaign promise is at a key moment that will test the presidency and his hopes for a new era of bipartisan cooperation in Washington.

White House aides and the bipartisan group of senators have huddled privately since Sunday trying to wrap up the deal, which would be a first phase of an eventual $4 trillion-plus package of domestic outlays — not just for roads and bridges, but foundations of everyday life including child care, family tax breaks, education and an expansion of Medicare for seniors.

Biden calls it a "blue-collar blueprint for building an American economy back." He asserted Tuesday that Americans are overwhelmingly in support of his plan and "that's the part that a lot of our friends on the other team kind of miss."

The other team begs to differ.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and some outside groups decry what they call Biden's "spending spree," and McConnell has said big spending is "the last thing American families need."

A core group of Republicans are interested in pursuing a more modest package of traditional highway and public works projects, about $600 billion in new funds, and say they just need more time to negotiate with their Democratic colleagues and the White House.

Senators from the bipartisan group emerged upbeat Tuesday from another late-night negotiating session with Biden aides at the Capitol, saying a deal was within reach and even a failed vote Wednesday would not be the end of the road.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said the test vote Wednesday afternoon could be useful in helping to "advance and expedite" the process.

"We are so close," said Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana.

Biden has been in touch with both Democrats and Republicans for several days, and his outreach will continue "until he has both pieces of legislation on his desk to sign them into law," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.

While Biden proposes paying for his proposals with a tax hike on corporations and wealthy Americans who earn more than $400,000 a year, the bipartisan group has been working almost around the clock to figure out a compromise way to pay for its package, having dashed ideas for boosting the gas tax drivers pay at the pump or strengthening the Internal Revenue Service to go after tax scofflaws.

Instead, senators in the bipartisan group were considering rolling back a Trump-era rule on pharmaceutical rebates that could bring in some $170 billion to be used for infrastructure. They were also still haggling over public transit funds.

Ten Republicans would be needed in the evenly split Senate to join all 50 Democrats in reaching the 60-vote threshold required to advance the bill past a filibuster to formal consideration.

Republicans are reluctant to open debate as the bipartisan bill remains a work in progress.

At a private lunch meeting Tuesday, McConnell and others urged Republican senators to vote no, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the session.

"We're not going to vote to proceed to a bill that doesn't exist yet," Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said afterward.

Some senators want to delay the vote to Monday. "We're making progress, but we need more time," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of the members of the bipartisan group.

By setting the vote now, Schumer is trying to nudge negotiations along, a strategy both parties have used before. If it fails Wednesday he can set another vote to proceed to the bill later.

Many Republicans are wary of moving ahead with the first, relatively slim package, fearing it will pave the way for the broader $3.5 trillion effort Democrats are preparing to pass on their own under special budget rules that only require 51 votes. Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been working to keep restless Democrats in her chamber in line, as rank-and-file lawmakers grow impatient with the sluggish Senate pace.

Liberal Democrats, in particular, are eager to make gains on Biden's priorities — with or without Republicans.

"Time's a-wasting, I want to get this work done," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters Tuesday.

Jayapal warned against giving Republicans too much time to negotiate the deal away. "We have all the history in the world to show that this is what Republicans do time and time and time again," she said.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, dismissed the Senate's bipartisan effort as inadequate. He wants more robust spending on the transportation elements and said, "We want an opportunity to actually negotiate."

Democrat John Yarmuth of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, said if the bipartisan effort fails in the Senate, Democrats will simply include some of the infrastructure spending in the broader package they are compiling with Biden's other priorities.

Democrats hope to show progress on that bill before lawmakers leave Washington for their recess in August.

The legislative maneuvering marks a major test of Biden's ability to deliver on a massive package of economic promises and reforms he made during his campaign.

Biden is making the case that America needs to make up for lost time with fresh federal outlays to shore up its aging infrastructure and households struggling to recoup from a shifting economy and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economy has come back to life as more Americans have gotten vaccinated and Biden's earlier $1.9 trillion relief package has coursed through the country. Employers have added an average of nearly 543,000 jobs a month since January, with Federal Reserve officials anticipating overall economic growth of roughly 7% this year that would be the highest since 1984. Yet there is also uncertainty as employers say they're struggling to find workers at the current pay levels and inflation concerns have yet to abate.

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Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Darlene Superville and Josh Boak contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Will they or won't they pass an infrastructure bill? That is the big question facing Congress as they begin to return from their Fourth of July recess.

The Senate returns Monday. The House of Representatives will be back next week.

WHAT THE MAJOR SIDES WANT

President Joe Biden and moderates: This group believes they have the votes for a $579 billion bipartisan infrastructure deal to fund broadband, roads, and bridges. What's unclear is whether they actually have the votes. Five Republicans appear to be on board, but for this to pass in a bipartisan manner, 60 will be needed to support it so the filibuster is deemed mute.

Conservative leadership: This group has been clear that they want zero tax increases. The bipartisan deal doesn't include any tax increases, however, conservative leadership may still vote against it for other reasons.

Progressives: Progressive Democrats, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, have been clear they won't support the bipartisan deal unless a separate, multi-trillion spending bill is also making its way through Congress. This legislation would include things like child care and education, items left out of the bipartisan deal.

To borrow another transportation analogy, think of Biden as a train conductor or engineer who needs to have two trains leave the station at the exact same time.

Train #1 is the bipartisan deal and train #2 would be the partisan, multi-trillion progressive legislation.

HOW IS IT PAID FOR?

To be clear the partisan, progressive legislation has yet to be written. With the Senate returning, that will soon change. It will likely include tax increases.

The bipartisan bill does have a working framework with no tax increases included.

To come up with the money, lawmakers are asking agencies and government organizations to help.

The plan includes cutting $70 billion from the nation’s unemployment benefits program. Although lawmakers say it won’t impact people out of work.

Supporters of the framework want to redirect $80 billion in COVID-19 relief funds to fund infrastructure while also directing the FCC to generate $65 billion by auctioning 5G airwave access

Not to mention, Democrat and Republican negotiators want the IRS to audit more Americans. In fact, Congress plans on hiring new investigators to collect $140 billion in taxes the federal government believes they are entitled to.

Expect more details on the timing of any votes in the Senate in the coming days.

AKRON, Oh. — On your first trip to Akron, the brick-covered streets may take you by surprise.

“They add character, but they’re not the smoothest ride; they slow people down,” said Jason Segedy, the Akron city planner.

They’re considered beloved relics from the turn of the 20th century when the city’s population was booming. While the days of creating new brick roads are over, Mayor Dan Horrigan would like Akron to once again be growing.

“We probably lost 100,000 people from 1960 to 2015, but we have this infrastructure. We have this space for a lot more,” said Horrigan.

The problem: many existing homes in Akron are old. Built in the WWI era for factory workers, many weren’t meant to last 80 years, but they continue to stand. Horrigan says repairs are too expensive for the public or city to fix them all.

Segedy says what Akron is going through is being seen throughout the nation.

“We are really trying to get supply and demand right in like our supply-demand equation right now,” he said.

Last month, Mayor Horrigan joined the mayors of Tempe, Arizona and Bozeman, Montana in testifying in front of U.S. senators. What the mayors have in common is an affordable housing shortage, driving people out of their cities. In the hearing, they proposed an idea: add funding for more affordable housing to Biden’s multi-trillion infrastructure plan.

“I do not expect the federal government to build new housing from the ground up, but I do expect you to do something to give tools to local governments to fill the gaps the private sector is not meeting,” said Mayor Cyndy Andrus of Bozeman during the meeting.

While they may believe affordable housing needs more avenues of funding, are they right in considering housing as infrastructure? Horrigan believes so.

“All the water meters, all the roads, all the water lines that lead to houses, they all lead to commercial buildings. So, we think it's a key part of the infrastructure in many urban areas across the country.”

Republicans at the hearing cautioned the committee, urging frugality and state control when it comes to infrastructure. Housing, as of now, has not been included in the plan, but Mayor Horrigan continues to hope for some extra help, so those brick roads will lead more folks to their new home

“When they get involved, they help out so many people. It's such a large scale. That's the difference that we're trying to make,” said Mayor Horrigan.

Scot Grossman and his team are finishing touches on this brand new, nearly two-mile stretch of trail that curves along Clear Creek Canyon in Colorado.

“It’s 65 miles, 5,600 vertical feet, going through multiple jurisdictions along the way. The biggest link to that 65 miles is Clear Creek Canyon, which we’re in right now,” Scot Grossman, the projects team supervisor at Jefferson County Open Space, said.

By the end of August, this part of the trail will be open for walking and biking.

“We finished about three miles in 2017; this is a mile and three quarters right now. We have funding for another three and a half miles, which will leave roughly a five-mile gap, and that's really where that federal money comes in,” Grossman said.

He has watched as segments of this 16.5-mile missing link on the Peaks to Plains trail project have come to life -- funded by state money, federal transportation dollars, and other grants.

“Big public projects like this, big capital projects, take money from all over. It can’t just be the local jurisdiction taking on something of statewide significance like this,” he said.

That’s where federal funding can play a role and where President Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan might fill a gap.

“The federal jobs act is a huge one for us to be able to leverage the funding we do have, which is significant but not enough to finish something like this,” Grossman said.

And projects like this exist around the country.

“I bet all of you can think of a place in your neighborhood where you're like, ‘Oh, I can make that two-mile trip on my bike, except I have to cross that one road that feels very dangerous.’ Putting this kind of investment into biking and walking will help find a solution to things like that,” Caron Whitaker, Deputy Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists, said.

Whitaker says the larger infrastructure package being discussed could help shift gears in how we travel.

“There's a lot of projects that are on the backlog that cities and towns and even states have wanted to do for a long time but just haven’t had the funding. So the infrastructure package would give them that funding,” Whitaker said.

The issue right now is that no one in the federal government has agreed on what should be in the plan that gets implemented.

“So there are competing bills in the Senate and the House, and there’s going to have to be some negotiation, and the bills look very different,” Nick Klein, an assistant professor at Cornell University in the department of city and regional planning, said.

Klein said it’s not clear whether this bill will be what we normally see for transportation policy or if it will be something different.

“In public opinion surveys, the American public wants to see a future with more walking, cycling, and transit. By and large, that’s what people want us to focus on,” Klein said.

“The infrastructure bill is very important because it sort of sets the agenda for where and how we’re going to spend billions and billions of dollars,” he said.

Back at the Peaks to Plains project, Piep van Heuven with nonprofit advocacy group Bicycle Colorado said projects like this couldn't be done without federal funding.

“We don't have a lot of detail yet on the infrastructure plan, but there are three very good indicators; one is that the funding of bicycling and walking is likely to increase, possibly double,” she explained. “And [the plan] also uses language like ‘fix it right,' which is a nod to Complete Streets or the philosophy that when you build a road or maintain a road, you want to do so for everybody. So that’s for people driving and biking and walking.”

Construction on this trail continues -- paving the way for what other user-friendly trails could look like moving forward.

“Having those federal dollars in focus to be able to complete things like this is enormous,” Grossman said.

“This is a great example of exactly the kind of bike and pedestrian multi-use path that we want. It’s the creme de la creme,” Van Heuven said.

WASHINGTON —

President Joe Biden will look to sell Americans on the economic benefits of the $973 billion infrastructure package while in Wisconsin on Tuesday, hoping to boost the bipartisan agreement that is held together in large part by the promise of millions of new jobs.

Biden will travel to La Crosse, population 52,000, and tour its public transit center, followed by a speech about the infrastructure package announced last week.

The president presented his message to Democratic donors on Monday that the agreement was a way for the United States to assert the principles of democracy and the economic might that can come from dramatic investments in the country's economic future.

“This infrastructure bill signals to the world that we can function, we can deliver," Biden said. "We can do significant things, show that America is back.”

White House officials issued an internal memo that highlights how the largest investment in transportation, water systems and services in nearly a century would boost growth. The memo notes that the total package is four times the size of the infrastructure investment made a dozen years ago in response to the Great Recession and the biggest since Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s.

It also emphasizes an analysis suggesting that 90% of the jobs generated by the spending could go to workers without college degrees, a key shift as a majority of net job gains before the pandemic went to college graduates.

“This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America,” the memo says.

Potential economic gains were a shared incentive for the group of Democratic and Republican senators who agreed to the deal on Thursday. But the process briefly fell into disarray late last week as Biden suggested the deal would be held up until he also received a separate package for infrastructure, jobs and education that would be determined solely by Democrats through the budget reconciliation process.

Biden said Saturday that this was not a veto threat, and by Sunday the package appeared back on track.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that Biden is “eager” for both bills to be approved by Congress and that the president is going to “work his heart out” to make it happen.

“The president intends to sign both pieces of legislation into law,” Psaki said at her daily briefing.

Approval of both bills by Congress remains a long haul with this summer's initial votes expected in July. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell questioned the legislative process ahead and mounted fresh obstacles while speaking Monday in Kentucky.

McConnell said he has not yet decided whether he will support the bipartisan package, but he wants Biden to pressure House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to say they will allow the bipartisan arrangement to pass without mandating that the much larger and broader follow-up bill be in place.

“I appreciate the president saying that he’s willing to deal with infrastructure separately, But he doesn’t control the Congress,” McConnell said at a press conference in Louisville.

The two bills had always been expected to move in tandem, and that is likely to continue as Biden drops his veto threat but reaches across the aisle for the nearly $1 trillion bipartisan package as well as his own broader package. The Democratic leaders are pressing ahead on the broader bill, which includes Biden's families and climate change proposals, as well as their own investments in Medicare, swelling to some $6 trillion.

The prospect of additional economic gains might be a way to garner public support and soothe partisan tensions. Biden also faces pressure from Democrats such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who told NBC's “Meet the Press” that the spending isn't as huge as it might seem because the sums are spread out over multiple years.

The eight-page White House memo comes from Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, and senior adviser Anita Dunn. It indicates that the $110 billion for roads and bridges would help relieve traffic and congestion that costs the economy over $160 billion annually. The memo justifies the $48.5 billion planned for public transit by citing studies that link light rail and buses to increased earnings and employment for workers. It defends the $66 billion for repairs and upgrades for rail lines by saying that current delays and disruptions weigh on growth.

The bipartisan agreement also would help nurture the market for electric vehicles, improve broadband access, repair water lines and create resilience against damage from extreme weather events.

Meanwhile, the White House and Congress are pushing ahead on separate infrastructure legislation, a top priority of the administration that is shared by many lawmakers interested in securing federal funds for long-sought road, highway, bridge and other construction projects back home.

This week, the House is scheduled to vote on a highway, transit and water infrastructure bill that would invest up to $715 billion over five years. It overlaps parts of the bipartisan agreement and could become a building block toward the Democrats' broader package coming later this summer or fall.

The bill contains many of the priorities that Biden has set, including $45 billion to replace lead water service lines throughout the nation and $4 billion for electric vehicle charging stations, as well as a big boost in spending for transportation programs focusing on repairing existing roads and bridges.

It also opens the door to nearly 1,500 requests from lawmakers that would fund specific projects back in their congressional districts, moving Congress a step closer toward a return to earmarked spending.

___

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking in Washington and Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Ky., contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON —

President Joe Biden wants $2 trillion to reengineer America’s infrastructure and expects the nation’s corporations to pay for it.

The president travels to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to unveil what would be a hard-hatted transformation of the U.S. economy as grand in scale as the New Deal or Great Society programs that shaped the 20th century.

White House officials say the spending over eight years would generate millions of new jobs as the country shifts away from fossil fuels and combats the perils of climate change. It is also an effort to compete against the technology and public investments made by China, the world’s second-largest economy and fast gaining on the United States’ dominant position.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the plan is “about making an investment in America — not just modernizing our roads or railways or bridges but building an infrastructure of the future.”

Biden's choice of Pittsburgh for unveiling the plan carries important economic and political resonance. He not only won Pittsburgh and its surrounding county to help secure the presidency, but he launched his campaign there in 2019. The city famed for steel mills that powered America’s industrial rise has steadily pivoted toward technology and health care, drawing in college graduates from western Pennsylvania in a sign of how economies can change.

The Democratic president's infrastructure projects would be financed by higher corporate taxes — a trade-off that could lead to fierce resistance from the business community and thwart any attempts to work with Republicans lawmakers. Biden hopes to pass an infrastructure plan by summer, which could mean relying solely on the slim Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate.

The White House says the largest chunk of the proposal includes $621 billion for roads, bridges, public transit, electric vehicle charging stations and other transportation infrastructure. The spending would push the country away from internal combustion engines that the auto industry views as an increasingly antiquated technology.

Another $111 billion would go to replace lead water pipes and upgrade sewers. Broadband internet would blanket the country for $100 billion. Separately, $100 billion would upgrade the power grid to deliver clean electricity. Homes would get retrofitted, schools modernized, workers trained and hospitals renovated under the plan, which also seeks to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.

The new construction could keep the economy running hot, coming on the heels of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package — economists already estimate it could push growth above 6% this year.

Separately, Biden will propose in the coming weeks a series of soft infrastructure investments in child care, family tax credits and other domestic programs, another expenditure of roughly $2 trillion to be paid for by tax hikes on wealthy individuals and families, according to people familiar with the proposal.

Funding the first $2 trillion for construction and “hard” infrastructure projects would be a hike on corporate taxes that would raise the necessary sum over 15 years and then reduce the deficit going forward, according to a White House outline of the plan. Biden would undo the signature policy achievement of the Trump administration by lifting the corporate tax rate to 28% from the 21% rate set in a 2017 overhaul.

To keep companies from shifting profits overseas to avoid taxation, a 21% global minimum tax would be imposed. The tax code would also be updated so that companies could not merge with a foreign business and avoid taxes by moving their headquarters to a tax haven. And among other provisions, it would increase IRS audits of corporations.

White House officials led by National Economic Council Director Brian Deese offered a private briefing Tuesday for top lawmakers in both parties. But key GOP and business leaders are already panning the package.

“It seems like President Biden has an insatiable appetite to spend more money and raise people’s taxes,” Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the GOP whip, said in an interview.

Scalise predicted that, if approved, the new spending and taxes would “start having a negative impact on the economy, which we’re very concerned about.”

The business community favors updating U.S. infrastructure, but it dislikes higher tax rates. An official at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private talks said the organization fears the proposed tax hikes could undermine the gains from new infrastructure. The Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs, would rather have infrastructure funded with user fees such as tolls.

Pittsburgh is a series of steep hills and three intersecting rivers. Its steel mills once covered the sky in enough soot that men needed to take spare white shirts to work because their button downs would turn to gray by lunch. Only last year the city, amid the coronavirus pandemic, met Environmental Protection Agency standards for air quality, even though it is increasingly the home of tech and health care workers with college degrees.

Infrastructure spending usually holds the promise of juicing economic growth, but by how much remains a subject of political debate. Commutes and shipping times could be shortened, while public health would be improved and construction jobs would bolster consumer spending.

Standard & Poor’s chief U.S. economist, Beth Ann Bovino, estimated last year that a $2.1 trillion boost in infrastructure spending could add as much as $5.7 trillion in income to the entire economy over a decade. Those kinds of analyses have led liberal Democrats in Congress such as Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal to conclude Tuesday, “The economic consensus is that infrastructure pays for itself over time.”

But the Biden administration is taking a more cautious approach than some Democrats might like. After $1.9 trillion in pandemic aid and $4 trillion in relief last year, the administration is trying to avoid raising the debt to levels that would trigger higher interest rates and make it harder to repay.

Psaki said Tuesday that Biden believes it’s “the responsible thing to do” to pay for infrastructure through taxes instead of borrowing. But the White House in its outline of the plan also couched the tax hikes as a matter of fairness, noting that 91 Fortune 500 companies paid $0 in federal corporate taxes in 2018.

MONAHANS, Texas -- Every day millions of oil and gas wells perform just like they are supposed to in the United States, providing the energy that helps fuel the American economy.

However, when something does go wrong, it creates fear and anxiety for anyone who lives nearby.

ANTINA RANCH LEAK

"We are at the bottom of an ancient sea," Sarah Stogner said, she is an energy lawyer in Midland, Texas.

Stogner is taking us on a tour of her client's ranch about an hour outside of Midland in an area rich in natural resources.

The first stop is an active leak at one of the old wells on the 20,000-acre ranch.

"We actively have a well flowing uncontrolled to the surface," Stogner said as she walks to the site.

Stogner points out that the water coming out is actually brine.

"We are going to have to monitor the ground water," Stogner said.

"It has benzene in it. I'm not a doctor, but we know benzene is a carcinogen," Stogner said.

"The biggest thing that caused this is the well was drilled in the 1940s, it's been in the ground for 60-something years, it has been exposed to heat, pressure, and chemicals that degrade the quality of the steel pipe," Stogner added.

CONCERN BY RANCH OWNER AND CLEANUP

Ashley Williams Watt owns this ranch and says having an active leak on your property is especially concerning.

"I don't know what's in that water," Williams Watt said.

Williams Watt is concerned about her cattle, which graze the ranch and drink the groundwater.

"I have no confidence that it's drinkable," Williams Watt said.

This leak is being cleaned up by Chevron, who says they are "taking responsibility" for the leak even though they recently sold the mineral rights on the ranch to another company.

Officials with Chevron say they are committed to protecting the environment and indicated their latest lab results show the cattle are safe because the drinking water meets standards.

After our visit to the ranch, Chevron says they successfully stopped the leak and are continuing to work at the property.

NATIONWIDE PROBLEM

What's happening at the Antina Ranch is a microcosm of a growing issue facing the United States.

While any leak is a cause for concern, what has energy and government officials even more worried are old wells with issues that have no company claiming responsibility.

According to the EPA, there are an estimated 2 million abandoned and unplugged oil and gas wells across the United States.

When a site doesn’t have an owner willing to clean it up, they are often known as "orphan wells."

Because orphan wells pose a danger, state governments are forced to clean them up.

Each orphan well cleanup costs taxpayers around $20,000.

President Biden has proposed in his American Jobs plan $16 billion to cleanup old oil and gas sites, although it remains unclear if that plan will pass in Congress.

As for Stogner, she just hopes the country gets a handle on the aging energy infrastructure soon.

"We have to fix this," Stogner said.

The act of governing seemed to happen at the speed of presidential tweets when Donald Trump was in the White House. But President Joe Biden is settling in for a summer slog of legislating on his big infrastructure proposals.

Congress is grinding through the details, trying to shape Biden’s ideas into bills that could become law. At the same time, the president is negotiating with Republicans over a potential bipartisan deal.

On Monday, the White House will launch a fresh week of new talks. The new talks with Republicans are the first he's held since returning from a foreign trip to Europe.

Earlier this month, shortly before leaving for Europe, the White House announced it had broken off talks with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia. In a statement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Capito's final offer "did not, in his view, meet the essential needs of our country."

Biden is also keeping his options open for a Democrats-only approach, but the path to such a deal is narrow. With Democrats only holding power in the Senate by virtue of a tie-break vote from Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden would need to have all Senate Democrats on board with his plan to have any hope of getting his plan passed.

COVINGTON, Ky. —

The Brent Spence Bridge is expected to be targeted in President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan, but despite the proposed tax increases, the possibility of tolls still hasn’t been ruled out.

“If there’s a list of bridges that need repair in this country and the Brent Spence isn’t on it, it’s a bad list. It’s an awful list,” said Ohio, Kentucky Indiana Council of Governments CEO Mark Policinski.

Policinski said this plan has a better chance of passing than the last seven infrastructure plans that have gone to Congress.

“I think what has happened is politics have met reality, which doesn’t often happen, but in this case, I think it did,” Policinski said.

The plan would put about $621 billion into transportation.

Even though the Brent Spence Bridge is likely to get attention in the plan, there are no specific details about how much.

“We don’t know if the feds are going to be in at 100 percent or if they’re going to be in at 80% or 50%,” Policinski said.

Without knowing that, there’s no way to rule out tolls.

Biden has said certain taxes would be raised to pay for the plan.

So, the possibility remains that taxes would be raised and a toll would still be placed on the bridge.

“Well, that’s the nightmare, but the whole point is that we have to wait and see what happens,” Policinski said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he is already skeptical about whether he’ll vote for the plan.

“If it’s going to have massive tax increases and trillions added to the national debt, not likely,” McConnell said.