Senate approves $ 1,000 billion infrastructure package as crypto concerns loom

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After weeks of negotiations, the Senate on Tuesday approved a $ 1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure program authorizing more than $ 500 billion in new spending to improve roads, bridges and other physical infrastructure like broadband. and recharging of electric vehicles. It’s the biggest domestic spending bill in over a decade.

It took a long time. There have been a lot of bumps in the road, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Tuesday.

Along with more traditional infrastructure spending like roads, the bill aims to bolster U.S. broadband networks with an additional $ 65 billion. It is also making a pandemic-era internet grant program called the Emergency Broadband Assistance Fund permanent, renaming it the Affordable Connectivity Fund. The fund offers low-income families grants of $ 30 per month to cover their Internet bills.

The package also includes $ 7.5 billion to build more than 500 million electric vehicle charging stations across the United States to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles. A more reliable charging network could encourage people to buy more electric vehicles over the next ten years.

Yet controversial language regarding cryptocurrency tax reporting remains in the bill. Lawmakers have sought to offset some of the infrastructure spending by expanding tax filing requirements on cryptocurrencies, generating estimated revenues of $ 28 billion. The digital asset community and lawmakers like Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) argued the language was too vague and would subject wallet developers and miners to reporting. After days of negotiations, an amendment to resolve this problem failed after opposition from Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL).

Now the House is set to begin debate on the infrastructure bill before it receives final approval and proceeds to President Bidens’ office. It is not known how long the process will take before the language is finalized.

In a letter to every House lawmaker, members of the bipartisan Blockchain Caucus raised concerns about the Senate’s cryptocurrency provision. Left unchanged, this provision will have far-reaching implications for crypto investors in our country and further regulate innovation outside the United States, they wrote. The House has the option of amending the bill to address these issues before proposing a tiered vote.

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