Senator Charles Grassley (R) expects a House vote by October 31st to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that was approved by the Senate this summer.

Senator Grassley was one of 19 Republican senators who helped the bill pass 69-30 this August which includes nearly $550 billion in new spending above what Congress already plans to allocate for infrastructure over the next eight years. The plan awaits a vote from the House as Democrats seek to finalize a $2 trillion “Build Back Better” package which includes a one-year extension of the child tax credit, expansions to Medicare and Medicaid, and a possible wealth tax. As Grassley says the social policy package has no Republican support, he hopes the infrastructure bill can reach the finish line, “I would think we oughta pass this roads and bridges and locks and dams and airport bills and internet bill, those are investments. We’ve got the votes to pass it, we ought to pass it and get it to the president and let the president have a victory. But they don’t seem to think that way, they got to have the whole package together or don’t have anything.”

The domestic package initially priced at $3.5 trillion has faced opposition from Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, and has seen slashes to provisions including free community college, and cutbacks on paid family leave and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. You can hear more from Grassley during today’s Halcyon House Washington Page on air and at kciiraido.com.