Biden Announces $2.3 Trillion Infrastructure Plan

From Associated Press and Fox Business - Speaking at a carpenters union training center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced his American Jobs Plan, a $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan.

What's in Biden's infrastructure plan?

• $115 billion will go to modernize 20,000 miles of highways, roads, main streets, and bridges that are in critical need of repair.

• $85 billion will go to modernize the public transportation system and help agencies expand their systems to meet demand.

• $80 billion will go towards addressing Amtrak's backlog repair and modernizing the Northeast Corridor.

• $25 billion will go to airports.

• $17 billion will go to inland waterways, ports, and ferries.

• $20 billion will go towards a new program that connects neighborhoods by presenting new projects that increase opportunity, advance racial equity and environmental justice, and promote affordable access.

• $174 billion will go towards investing in electric vehicles.

• $300 billion will go towards boosting American manufacturing by allocating $50 billion for semiconductor manufacturing and research and $50 billion for the National Science Foundation to create a technology directorate.

• $50 billion will go towards creating a new office at the Department of Commerce dedicated to monitoring domestic industrial capacity and funding investments to support production of critical goods.

• $30 billion will be invested over four years to make major investments in medical countermeasures.

• $111 billion will go towards rebuilding water infrastructure and will replace all of the lead pipes and services lines.

• $100 billion will go towards building new public schools and upgrading existing buildings.

• $12 billion will go to states to improve physical and technological infrastructure at community colleges.

• $25 billion will go towards upgrading child-care facilities and increase the supply of child care.

• $100 billion will go towards bringing high-speed broadband internet to all Americans.

• $213 billion will go towards building more than 2 million affordable homes.

• $400 billion will go to hospitals and home-care services to enhance caregiving for elderly and disabled Americans.

How does Biden plan on paying for his infrastructure plan?

• The corporate tax rate will increase from 21% to 28% to help pay for the plan.

• A 21% global minimum tax will be imposed on any American companies that choose to shift their profits overseas to avoid the increase in the corporate tax rate.

• Oil and gas companies will be required to pay into the Superfund Trust Fund to help cover the costs of pollutant clean-ups.

Biden stated, "It's the largest American jobs investment since World War II, and it will create millions of jobs."

White House officials noted that its primary purposes are to progress the transition of the country away from fossil fuels, to combat the negative effects of climate change, and to compete with the technology and public investments made by China.

Biden hopes for Congress to pass an infrastructure plan by summer, which would mean relying almost entirely on Democrats' majorities in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.

The Biden administration is also hoping to pass a second bill that will focus on domestic issues, such as expanding health care, providing universal kindergarten, extending the child tax credit and offering paid family leave. The bill is expected to be announced in April and will likely cost approximately $1 trillion. Funding for the plan is expected to come primarily from tax increases on wealthy Americans.

Image from Reuters