The House approved a $1 trillion US infrastructure package of road and other infrastructure projects after Democrats resolved a months-long standoff between progressives and moderates.
The bill was put on the floor on Friday evening. Thirteen Republicans, mostly moderates, supported the legislation while six of Democrats’ farthest left members — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri — opposed it.
A breakthrough came as lawmakers rubber-stamped the Senate-passed infrastructure bill on the House floor by a comfortable 228 votes to 206.
The passage of the infrastructure spending marks a legacy-making achievement for Mr Biden, amid plunging personal approval ratings and a humiliating upset defeat for his Democratic Party in the Virginia governor's election.
His spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the success was “proof that delivering for the American people is worth all the painful sausage making”.
“Clean drinking water for kids, broadband access, electric vehicles, biggest investment in public transit. It's happening. And more to come,” she tweeted.
The House also voted for the “rule” providing for consideration of the Build Back Better Act.
Build Back Better focuses on social policies - including education, health care, housing and climate - and together with the infrastructure bill forms the centrepiece of Mr Biden’s agenda.
There have been weeks of negotiations, with at least six moderate members asking for adjustments to the cost and the inclusion of paid leave and lower prescription drug prices.
Their most recent request was for a cost estimate on the plan from the Congressional Budget Office. The moderates said they needed to see a full accounting of the economic effects of the plan. This will not be available for a week.
“If our six colleagues still want to wait for a [Congressional Budget Office] score, we would agree to give them that time – after which point, we can vote on both bills together,” Pramila Jayapal, a Washington representative, said.
Mr Biden had been making calls to representatives throughout the day.
“I’m asking every House member, member of the House of Representatives, to vote yes on both these bills right now,” he said.
Progressives initially blocked the infrastructure vote amid suspicion that Senate centrists would reject the Build Back Better bill as soon as they got their transport upgrades signed into law.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi refused to back down, insisting on the vote before the end of the day and offering an olive branch to the liberals – a procedural vote on the rule to at least get debate started on Build Back Better.
“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,” Mr Biden said in a late evening statement.
“I am confident that during the week of November 15, the House will pass the Build Back Better Act.”
Build Back Better, on the other hand, does not have the Senate's blessing and is likely to be downsized significantly and put through further arduous votes in the upper chamber, even if it advances from the House.
“It will not be enacted as is. Everybody needs to sit with that and get comfortable with it,” Montana's democratic senator Jon Tester told Politico.
The votes capped months of tense negotiations on Capitol Hill since the Senate approved the infrastructure package in August, giving it rare bipartisan support in Washington's polarised political atmosphere.
Most House Republicans withheld their support, however, after former president Donald Trump threatened reprisals for helping to hand Mr Biden a political win.
By funding work on roads, bridges and ports and high-speed internet, the White House says that Build Back Better would create millions of high-paying jobs.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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if you go
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
