President Biden on Wednesday rolled out the broad outline of a $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs package that he hopes to finance\u00a0 through tax hikes \u00a0on \u2026<\/b>
\nPresident Biden on Wednesday rolled out the broad outline of a $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs package that he hopes to finance through tax hikes on corporations and individuals. In his remarks unveiling the proposal, Biden said it would mark \u201cthe moment that America won the future.\u201d The package includes massive spending on roads, railways and environmentally friendly technology, along with new funds for childcare and adult-care for the elderly and disabled. The blueprint will face protracted debate in Congress, where Democrats hold razor-thin margins in both the House and Senate. The bulk of spending and tax hikes are most likely to pass the Senate via a budget reconciliation process that circumvents the usual 60 votes needed for bills. Biden said during a speech in Pittsburg, however, that \u201cI\u2019m going to bring Republicans into the Oval Office, listen to them, what they had to say and be open to their ideas. We\u2019ll have a good faith negotiation if any Republican wants to help get this done.\u201d In February, Biden hosted 10 GOP senators to discuss possible changes to his $2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus plan. That plan was then rammed through Congress with no Republican votes and no serious attempt to court them. The president said that the infrastructure funding is needed to help the US compete against \u201cautocracies\u201d such as China. \u201cYou know, China and other countries eating our lunch,\u201d Biden said. He infamously scoffed in 2019, \u201cChina is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man.\u201d Biden framed the tax hikes as reasonable, saying that jacking the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent would still be lower than any point between World War II and 2017. He also repeated his claim that \u201cno one making under $400,000 will see their federal taxes go up, period\u201d \u2014 despite uncertainty on that point. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki recently clarified the hike would apply to families earning $400,000 per year \u2014 meaning two adults who make $200,000, a seeming contradiction of Biden\u2019s claim. Biden also reportedly is planning to push for a higher rate for capital gains taxes on investments like stocks and real estate, to treat them like ordinary income rather than the current highest 20 percent tax rate. Those taxes could impact some people who inherit money or property. Biden\u2019s preliminary proposal includes, according to a White House fact sheet released Wednesday: The single largest item is a proposal to \u201cput $400 billion toward expanding access to quality, affordable home- or community-based care for aging relatives and people with disabilities,\u201d according to the fact sheet. The plan calls for expanding long-term care covered by Medicaid to low-income people through well-paid home and community-based services. \u201cCaregivers \u2013 who are disproportionally women of color \u2013 have been underpaid and undervalued for far too long. Wages for essential home care workers are approximately $12 per hour, putting them among the lowest paid workers in our economy,\u201d the White House said. \u201cThese investments will help hundreds of thousands of Americans finally obtain the long-term services and support they need, while creating new jobs and offering caregiving workers a long-overdue raise, stronger benefits, and an opportunity to organize or join a union and collectively bargain.\u201d The second-largest pot of funding would go toward electric vehicles, including rebates and tax incentives for people who buy the cars and funds for the feds to swap out their own petroleum-fueled vehicles. Biden\u2019s plan \u201cwill enable automakers to spur domestic supply chains from raw materials to parts, retool factories to compete globally, and support American workers to make batteries and EVs,\u201d the White House said. The proposal also calls for federal grants to state and local governments and corporations to build 500,000 charging ports for electric vehicles by 2030. Biden will \u201cutilize the vast tools of federal procurement to electrify the federal fleet, including the United States Postal Service,\u201d the fact sheet says. Biden is proposing a significant amount of funding for traditional infrastructure projects, setting off what\u2019s likely to be intense jockeying among lawmakers to bring home the bacon for home-state priorities. \u201cThe President is proposing a total increase of $115 billion to modernize the bridges, highways, roads, and main streets that are in most critical need of repair. This includes funding to improve air quality, limit greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce congestion,\u201d the White House said. \u201cHis plan will modernize 20,000 miles of highways, roads, and main streets, not only \u2018fixing them first\u2019 but \u2018fixing them right,\u2019 with safety, resilience, and all users in mind. It will fix the most economically significant large bridges in the country in need of reconstruction, and it will repair the worst 10,000 smaller bridges, including bridges that provide critical connections to rural and tribal communities.\u201d The infrastructure plan calls for three major water system improvement plans. A $45 billion fund would seek to fully eliminate old lead water pipes, which local governments and homeowners for decades have replaced due to toxicity issues. A broader $56 billion proposal calls for replacing \u201caging water systems\u201d that \u201cthreaten public health in thousands of communities nationwide.\u201d A third pot would provide $10 billion \u201cto monitor and remediate PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water and to invest in rural small water systems and household well and wastewater systems, including drainage fields.\u201d The Biden plan also calls for a surge in school construction funds, which is likely to face Republican skepticism on Capitol Hill. \u201cThe President\u2019s plan invests $100 billion to upgrade and build new public schools, through $50 billion in direct grants and an additional $50 billion leveraged through bonds,\u201d the fact sheet says. \u201cThese funds will first go toward making sure our schools are safe and healthy places of learning for our kids and work for teachers and other education professionals, for example by improving indoor air quality and ventilation.\u201d Biden\u2019s just-signed $2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill contained more than $120 billion for K-12 schools, including for pandemic retrofitting. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that more than 90 percent of those funds would not be spent in 2021 because funds approved for schools in 2020 haven\u2019t been spent. The proposal also calls for $85 billion \u201cto modernize existing transit and help agencies expand their systems to meet rider demand.\u201d \u201cThis investment will double federal funding for public transit, spend down the repair backlog, and bring bus, bus rapid transit, and rail service to communities and neighborhoods across the country. It will ultimately reduce traffic congestion for everyone,\u201d the White House said. The Amtrak-rider-in-chief is also pitching a big boost for the national passenger train network, which includes a Delaware station named in his honor. \u201cPresident Biden is calling on Congress to invest $80 billion to address Amtrak\u2019s repair backlog; modernize the high traffic Northeast Corridor; improve existing corridors and connect new city pairs; and enhance grant and loan programs that support passenger and freight rail safety, efficiency, and electrification,\u201d the White House said. The plan calls for expanding high-speed internet, which is a traditionally bipartisan issue on Capitol Hill. This provision would aim for universal access to broadband-speed internet, including in rural areas. It would also seek \u201cprice transparency and competition\u201d among providers \u201cby lifting barriers that prevent municipally-owned or affiliated providers and rural electric co-ops from competing.\u201d Another $50 billion would go toward steeling US infrastructure against hurricanes and other natural disasters. \u201cPeople of color and low-income people are more likely to live in areas most vulnerable to flooding and other climate change-related weather events,\u201d the White House said. \u201cIn the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Black and Hispanic residents were twice as likely as white residents to report experiencing an income shock with no recovery support. \u201c The modernization drive would entail \u201che electric grid; food systems; urban infrastructure; community health and hospitals; and our roads, rail, and other transportation assets.\u201d Funds would flow through FEMA\u2019s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development\u2019s Community Development Block Grant program and new programs through the Department of Transportation. There would also be \u201ca bipartisan tax credit to provide incentives to low- and middle-income families and to small businesses to invest in disaster resilience, and transition and relocation assistance to support community-led transitions for the most vulnerable tribal communities.\u201d The White House said that \u201cBiden\u2019s plan will protect and, where necessary, restore nature-based infrastructure \u2013 our lands, forests, wetlands, watersheds, and coastal and ocean resources,\u201d including to protect against wildfires and ensure \u201ccoastal resilience to sea-level rise and hurricanes\u201d and \u201csupport for agricultural resources management and climate-smart technologies.\u201d The plan would add $40 billion to public housing, which has been a low federal priority for generations as public housing became associated with violent crime and urban blight. \u201cYears of disinvestment have left our public housing in disrepair,\u201d the White House said. \u201cPresident Biden is calling on Congress to invest $40 billion to improve the infrastructure of the public housing system in America.,\u201d according to the fact sheet. \u201cThis funding will address critical life-safety concerns, mitigate imminent hazards to residents, and undertake energy efficiency measures which will significantly reduce ongoing operating expenses. These improvements will disproportionately benefit women, people of color, and people with disabilities.\u201d The package includes a push for people upgrade their homes. There would be block grants available and additional tax credits available for homeowners and businesses. \u201cPresident Biden\u2019s plan also will establish a $27 billion Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to mobilize private investment into distributed energy resources; retrofits of residential, commercial and municipal buildings; and clean transportation. These investments have a particular focus on disadvantaged communities that have not yet benefited from clean energy investments,\u201d the release said. A currently ill-defined category of funding would seek to fund \u201ctransformative\u201d projects. It\u2019s unclear what would qualify. \u201c[T]he President\u2019s plan will accelerate transformative investments, from pre-development through construction, turning \u2018shovel worthy\u2019 ideas into \u2018shovel ready\u2019 projects. This includes $25 billion for a dedicated fund to support ambitious projects that have tangible benefits to the regional or national economy but are too large or complex for existing funding programs,\u201d the fact sheet said. A $25 billion allocation would go to \u201cupgrade child care facilities and build new supply in high need areas.\u201d \u201cLack of access to child care makes it harder for parents, especially mothers, to fully participate in the workforce,\u201d the White House said. \u201cIn areas with the greatest shortage of child care slots, women\u2019s labor force participation is about three percentage points less than in areas with a high capacity of child care slots, hurting families and hindering U.S. growth and competitiveness.\u201d The plan includes a proposal that \u201c[e]mployers will receive 50 percent of the first $1 million of construction costs per facility so that employees can enjoy the peace of mind and convenience that comes with on-site child care.\u201d Another $25 billion would go toward the nation\u2019s airports through an Airport Improvement Program, as well as \u201cupgrades to FAA assets that ensure safe and efficient air travel, and a new program to support terminal renovations and multimodal connections for affordable, convenient, car-free access to air travel.\u201d As a sub-set of the larger $115 billion for roads and bridges, the plan calls for $20 billion to \u201cimprove road safety for all users, including increases to existing safety programs and a new Safe Streets for All program to fund state and local \u2018vision zero\u2019 plans and other improvements to reduce crashes and fatalities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians.\u201d A total of $20 billion would fund \u201ca new program that will reconnect neighborhoods cut off by historic investments and ensure new projects increase opportunity, advance racial equity and environmental justice, and promote affordable access.\u201d \u201cThe President\u2019s plan will inspire basic research, like advanced pavements that recycle carbon dioxide, and \u2018future proof\u2019 investments that will last decades to leave coming generations with a safe, equitable, and sustainable transportation system,\u201d the White House said. Biden is proposing $17 billion toward \u201cin inland waterways, coastal ports, land ports of entry, and ferries, which are all essential to our nation\u2019s freight.\u201d \u201cThis includes a Healthy Ports program to mitigate the cumulative impacts of air pollution on neighborhoods near ports, often communities of color,\u201d the release said. The White House said that \u201c[h]undreds of thousands of former orphan oil and gas wells and abandoned mines pose serious safety hazards, while also causing ongoing air, water, and other environmental damage.\u201d \u201d Many of these old wells and mines are located in rural communities that have suffered from years of disinvestment,\u201d the release said. \u201cPresident Biden\u2019s plan includes an immediate up-front investment of $16 billion that will put hundreds of thousands to work in union jobs plugging oil and gas wells and restoring and reclaiming abandoned coal, hardrock, and uranium mines. In addition to creating good jobs in hard-hit communities, this investment will reduce the methane and brine that leaks from these wells, just as we invest in reducing leaks from other sources like aging pipes and distribution systems.\u201d There is a $12 billion proposal for \u201cinvesting in community college facilities and technology.\u201d \u201cStates will be responsible for using the dollars to address both existing physical and technological infrastructure needs at community colleges and identifying strategies to address access to community college in education deserts,\u201d the White House said. Winning praise from environmentalists and scorn from conservatives, Biden is proposing an anti-global warming force drawing inspiration from New Deal-era work programs. \u201cThis $10 billion investment will put a new, diverse generation of Americans to work conserving our public lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, and advancing environmental justice through a new Civilian Climate Corps, all while placing good-paying union jobs within reach for more Americans,\u201d the fact sheet says. Among the smaller expenses, $5 billion would \u201c[r]emediate and redevelop idle real property, and spur the buildout of critical physical, social, and civic infrastructure in distressed and disadvantaged communities.\u201d<\/p>\n