President Biden Unveils ”Once in a Generation” Infrastructure Plan
President Joe Biden announced an ambitious $2.3 trillion plan in late March to rebuild and reimagine the nation’s infrastructure through what he described as a “once-in-a-generation investment in America.” The President’s next major legislative effort, called the American Jobs Plan, aims to address some of the issues at the forefront of Biden’s presidential campaign -- from climate change to polluted water systems to crumbling transportation infrastructure. While Biden claims the sweeping proposal will “rebuild the backbone of America,” the plan has already provoked Republican concern about its costs and proposed corporate tax hikes.
In the announcement speech at a carpenters training facility in Pittsburgh, Biden pitched his plan as a transformative initiative that would create millions of jobs, rebuild the country’s infrastructure, facilitate the shift to greener energy and advance the US both economically and technologically to out-compete China and other foreign competitors. The initial plan would modernize 20,000 miles of roads, expand access to clean drinking water, rebuild schools and childcare facilities and bring affordable and reliable high-speed broadband to every American, among numerous other measures.
"It’s not a plan that tinkers around the edges,” Biden said. “It’s a once-in-a-generation investment in America unlike anything we’ve seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades ago. In fact, it’s the largest American jobs investment since World War II. It will create millions of jobs, good-paying jobs.”
The Biden administration describes the American Jobs Plan as a historic investment that will position the US to lead in infrastructure and innovation. Included in the proposal is $213 billion towards affordable and sustainable housing, $137 billion to improve public school buildings, $174 billion to bring electric vehicles into the mainstream, $115 billion to repair roads and bridges and $111 billion directed towards clean drinking water. There is also $42 billion for ports and airports, $85 billion to improve public transportation, $100 billion to expand high-speed broadband and $180 billion to be invested in research and development.
President Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure package, which aims to improve the nation’s infrastructure and facilitate the shift to clean energy, has been met with pushback from congressional Republicans due to costs and tax hikes. Photo by Biden For President is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
"I'm convinced that if we act now, in 50 years, people are going to look back and say, 'This was the moment that America won the future,'" Biden said. "What I'm proposing is a one-time capital investment of roughly $2 trillion in America's future, spread largely over eight years. It will generate historic job growth, historic economic growth, help businesses to compete internationally and create more revenue as well."
To pay for it, Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, a trade-off that has already sparked resistance from congressional Republicans who previously slashed the rate to 21% from 35% as a part of former President Donald Trump’s 2017 corporate tax cuts. In addition to raising the corporate tax rate, Treasury Secretary Janey Yellen has recently introduced other measures that may be used to fund the infrastructure plan, including increasing the global minimum corporate tax rate, eliminating tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry and ramping up tax enforcement against corporations. While this legislative initiative is a top priority for the Biden administration, these proposals will likely prove difficult to enact due to mounting opposition from GOP lawmakers and business groups. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-KY), cited the bill as a “Trojan horse” for extensive tax hikes, packed with progressive wish-list items that he would not support “if it's going to have massive tax increases and trillions more added to the national debt."
Though the American Jobs Plan will likely get little-to-no congressional GOP support, a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll found that a majority of Americans (56%) support the package, with 65% in favor of funding the plan through a tax on those earning $400,000 or more annually. The poll highlights a large partisan split on whether the Biden administration should increase the corporate tax rate beyond its current 21%, with 80% of Democrats supporting compared to just 17% of Republicans.
"Overwhelmingly, the majority of the American people — Democrats, Republicans and independents — support infrastructure investments that meets the moment," Biden said in recent remarks. "So, I urge the Congress: Listen to your constituents and, together, we can lay a foundation for an economy that works for everyone and allows America to remain the world leader."
While Republican concerns and opposition towards the bill largely center around the proposal’s costs, Democrats in the Congressional Progressive Caucus have criticized the infrastructure plan as insufficient to meet the threats posed by climate change. In a press release from the Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), progressive Democrats call on Biden to increase the size and scope of this package while emphasizing the need for a “more comprehensive and integrated plan that demonstrates the size, scope, and speed required to aggressively slash carbon pollution and avoid climate catastrophe.”
What Biden first unveiled in late March is just one component of a two-part plan to overhaul the nation’s economy. The $2 trillion companion bill ---- which focuses on what the administration calls “human infrastructure ---- could be paid for through tax hikes on those making more than $400,000 a year, the top 1.8% of taxpayers. The Biden administration is expected to announce the second part of his “Build Back Better” agenda, with additional proposals for spending on education, childcare, healthcare and other social programs, in the coming weeks.