While speaking to members of the Minnesota Legislature in Marshall last month, Tyler Mayor Joan Jagt recalled the day four years ago when she discovered a geyser of sewage in her basement. The sewage backups in her basement continued to happen four times in one month. The cause of those backups: an undersized sewer system in Tyler.

Jagt was making a plea for help in the form of a $7.29 million bonding request from the Legislature. Members of the House Capital Investment Committee stopped in Marshall to hold a hearing on bonding requests from Marshall and surrounding communities.

An inadequate sewer system is not only a sanitary issue for the Tyler residents, but city officials say it also is preventing the city to grow. Those are good reasons for the committee to advance Tyler’s request.

However, Tyler’s sewage system dilemma reminds us of what is going on in Washington, D.C. right now at the U.S. Capitol. Democrats in the House have held up voting on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure measure that was passed by the U.S. Senate in hopes of pushing through a $1.75 trillion plan to overhaul the country’s health care, education, climate and tax laws.

Democrats vow to pass both the infrastructure and social spending package this week. But it’s a shame that the infrastructure measure has been held up for months. Communities like Tyler need to know that help is on the way to fix crumbling infrastructure — not only sewage systems, but broken water systems and unsafe roads and bridges. Residents of some communities are unable to drink the water out of their faucets because of lead in the city pipes. The list of unsafe and dangerous conditions in our communities goes on and on.

On Monday, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin urged Democrats in the House to stop “holding hostage” the infrastructure bill in hopes of pushing through the social spending package.

Manchin’s right. The time is now to move the infrastructure package over the finish line. Communities like Tyler need to know help is on the way.