President Joe Biden is expected to introduce a new $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan today in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to modernize America’s crumbling transportation hubs; such as roads, bridges, public transportation, and tunnels; enabling the creation of millions of jobs and out-compete with China.
The first phase of Biden’s plan, called the ‘Build Back Better’ plan which will include eight years of investments for funding the project.
The plan is designed to inject $620 billion into transport, including upgrading 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of roads and highways, repairing thousands of bridges and doubling funding for public transit.
The President is making the infrastructure plan one of his flagship policies.
News Break/AFP reports that White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated, “He views his role as laying out…a broad vision…a bold vision for how we can invest in America, American workers, and our communities.”
The cost of the plan would partially be paid by raising corporate taxes from 21 percent to 28 percent.
“The president is proposing to fundamentally reform the corporate tax code so that it…ensures that large corporations are paying their fair share,” a senior administration official said ahead of the speech.
The new infrastructure spending plan comes after the United States passed a $1.9 trillion Covid-relief stimulus package.
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Biden’s speech is expected to open a bitter battle with Congressional leaders as Democrats hold a narrow majority and face strong opposition with Republicans. Some opposition came from the progressive wing of the Democratic party.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claims the package needs to be “way bigger.”
The plan includes the initiative to “go green” and eliminate “gas-guzzler” cars, sparking the electric vehicle revolution, building a network of 500,000 EV chargers, replacing 50,000 diesel transit vehicles, and electrifying 20 percent of the famous yellow school buses.
The White House describes the plan as a “once-in-a-century” capital investment. The goal is to move towards a greener economy and make infrastructure more resilient to climate change and transition over to clean energy.
