Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi planned to host a vote on the House infrastructure bill on Friday, hoping to win enough support after it failed to pass the day before. The meeting, however, was postponed after House progressives refused to advance, marking a bipartisan stalemate. The situation begs several questions about the urgency and feasibility of passing the bill.

Why all the haste to pass the Infrastructure Bill?

Biden’s rush to pass the infrastructure bill stems from the country’s ever growing debt. The bill is aimed to prevent the U.S. debt from reaching the Debt Ceiling which is the amount the federal government is allowed to borrow. If the U.S. does reach this point,  estimated to be on October 18, 2021, the federal government will shut down temporarily from its inability to pay off its debts. A federal shutdown would prompt a different kind of chaos, one which would change almost every aspect of the United States’ economy and destroy the nation’s record of always paying back loans.To add on to the debt issue, the U.S. economy’s inflation rates have recently skyrocketed. Instead of the Federal Reserve’s targeted 2% rate, the economy is facing a 4.2% rate.

The federal government has never defaulted on its debt before, motivating Biden to do everything in his power to avert the crisis and uphold the nation’s track record – such as by drafting an infrastructure bill that would raise the debt ceiling. However, the vote to pass this bill failed once in September, and a second voting was postponed, making it unlikely that any advances will be made. 

Regardless of the outcome of the nation’s debt dilemma, the entirety of the U.S. economy will feel the result of Biden’s infrastructure bill. More information to follow on the bill as this concerning situation develops.