Senate Democratic leadership laid down the groundwork on federal spending plans for roughly $4 trillion on Thursday, scheduling a vote next week on a bipartisan infrastructure proposal that is core to President Joe Biden’s ambitious domestic agenda.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday that the Senate will have its first procedural vote on the plan on Wednesday, thus setting a deadline for the 20-plus Democrats and Republicans to finish the bill’s text, which includes $600 billion in new spending.

Schumer has set the date as a deadline for the Democratic caucus to agree on a $3.5 trillion stand-alone budget plan that incorporates once-in-a-generation spending on health, combating climate change, and extending social welfare programmes.

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“The time has come to make progress, and we will. We must,” Schumer told the Senate.

“We Democrats feel an obligation to make it easier for those in the middle class to enjoy that middle class life and to stay there, and for those struggling to get into the middle class to have those ladders so they can climb up to get there,” he said.

Biden and his Democratic congressional partners are keen to pass the legislation before the August recess.

Some Republicans support the bipartisan bill to upgrade the nation’s bridges, roads, ports, and broadband, and Democrats may be able to garner the bare minimum of 10 Republicans to overcome stalling efforts and pass the bill on Wednesday.

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Republicans, on the other hand, are united in their opposition to the $3.5 trillion government spending bill. That means that in order for the larger bill to pass, it would require the approval of all Democrats.

Democrats are utilising a procedure known as reconciliation to pass big budget bills with a simple majority vote.

Schumer is signalling that he will act quickly by holding an infrastructure vote next week and establishing a timeline for Democrats to agree on the bigger plan.

“It’s important to keep the two-track process moving,” he said.

For lunch on Wednesday, Biden met with Senate Democrats to urge support for the plans.