Washington D.C. – The United States Senate is expected to soon pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill without including a dime to address the truck parking shortage.

Over the weekend, the Senate advanced a 2,700-page piece of legislation calling for roughly $555 billion in new federal spending with only $110 billion dedicated for roads and bridges.

The bill also includes controversial provisions such as: mandating newly manufactured heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) be equipped with an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, an apprenticeship program paving the way for truckers as young as 18 years of age to operate cross-country, and commissioning a national vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) pilot program.

What it does not include, however, is funding to address a nationwide shortage in parking for truckers.

An amendment offered last week that would have required more than $1 billion of funding from the National Highway Performance Program be used for truck parking projects was defeated.

While the Biden Administration and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) vowed the legislation would be completely paid for and not add to America’s $28 trillion (and growing) national debt, a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report found it will actually increase the deficit by $256 billion over ten years.

In addition, on Monday, Democrats introduced a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill packed with their domestic spending priorities ranging from universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds; child care; tuition-free community college; housing programs; electrifying the federal vehicle fleet; and amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.

“This legislation is about restoring the middle class in the 21st Century and giving more Americans the opportunity to get there,” Majority Leader Schumer said.

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Republicans are warning the bill is a “down payment on the Green New Deal” and will exacerbate already escalating inflation.

A final vote on the infrastructure package is set for Tuesday when it is expected that all Democrats and at least ten Republicans will vote in favor of passage ensuring the necessary 60 votes.

Leader Schumer recently stated he expects the massive budget reconciliation bill — which only needs 50 votes — to also pass in the coming days.

TransportationNation.com will continue to follow it closely.