Sen. Chuck Grassley, who supported infrastructure bill, is not advising Iowa House members on how to vote on it

Sen. Chuck Grassley, who touted his vote for a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package as an investment in Iowa’s future, isn’t advising his Iowa GOP House colleagues one way or the other as they prepare to vote on the plan Thursday.

When he voted for the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act seven weeks ago, Grassley said that like any compromise, the bill wasn’t perfect “and nobody got everything they wanted or likes everything in the bill.”

However, the Iowa Republican said the bill — which includes $559 billion in new infrastructure spending — would make a “significant” investment in Iowa’s roads, bridges, waterways, energy and internet infrastructure, “all without raising taxes on Iowa families.”

A floor vote on the package has been scheduled for Thursday in the House, where it faces opposition from Republicans as well as Democratic progressives who are threatening to withhold support unless and until Congress acts on a broader $3.5 trillion “soft infrastructure” bill.

Although House GOP leaders are trying to keep the number of their members who vote for the infrastructure package as low as possible, a Morning Consult-Politico poll from Sept. 24-27 found 56 percent of registered voters approve of the bill, including 27 percent who “strongly support” it. Only 27 percent either “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose it; 17 percent were unsure.

There could be some political danger in opposing the package, Grassley said, “but I'm not going to judge whether they should vote for it or not. That's up to them.”

Iowa 1st District Rep. Ashley Hinson indicted earlier this month she would be a “no” vote.

“I don't think there's enough in there for actual roads and bridges, which we know is crucial to Iowa,” she said on “Iowa Press.”

“I want to make sure that whatever bill comes forward on infrastructure really respects taxpayers in the long-term and also meets that need of targeted infrastructure,” she said.

Rep. Cindy Axne, the lone Democrat in Iowa’s congressional delegation, has been pushing to reserve $1 billion for biofuels and is expected to support the bill.

Fourth District Rep. Randy Feenstra told a Washington media outlet Friday he plans to vote against the bill.

Second District Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks called for a “big infrastructure bill” before taking office, but it is unknown how she will vote.

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