President Joe Biden unveiled a more than $2 trillion infrastructure package on Wednesday as his administration shifts its focus to bolstering the post-pandemic economy.
The plan Biden outlined Wednesday includes roughly $2 trillion in spending over eight years and would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% to fund it. Speaking at a union hall in Pittsburgh, the president called it a vision to create “the strongest, most resilient, innovative economy in the world” — and millions of “good-paying jobs” along the way.
The White House said the tax hike, combined with measures designed to stop offshoring of profits, would fund the infrastructure plan within 15 years.
The proposal would:
Put $621 billion into transportation infrastructure such as bridges, roads, public transit, ports, airports and electric vehicle development
Direct $400 billion to care for elderly and disabled Americans
Inject more than $300 billion into improving drinking-water infrastructure, expanding broadband access and upgrading electric grids
Put more than $300 billion into building and retrofitting affordable housing, along with constructing and upgrading schools
Invest $580 billion in American manufacturing, research and development and job training efforts
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about his $2 trillion infrastructure plan during an event to tout the plan at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 31, 2021.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about his $2 trillion infrastructure plan during an event to tout the plan at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 31, 2021.
The announcement kicks off Biden’s second major initiative after passage of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan earlier this month. In the new move, the administration aims to approve a first proposal designed to create jobs, revamp U.S. infrastructure and fight climate change before it turns toward a second plan to improve education and expand paid leave and health-care coverage.
Biden said he will unveil the second part of his recovery package “in a few weeks.”
“These are investments we have to make,” Biden said of revamping U.S. infrastructure. “We can afford to make them. To put it another way — we can’t afford not to.”
While Democrats narrowly control both chambers of Congress, the party faces challenges in passing the infrastructure plan. The GOP broadly supports efforts to rebuild roads, bridges and airports and expand broadband access, but Republicans oppose tax hikes as part of the process.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday he is “not likely” to support the proposal because of the tax increases. Biden called McConnell on Tuesday to brief him on the plan.
McConnell’s Democratic counterpart, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, touted the bill as a means to create jobs while promoting clean energy and transportation. In a statement Wednesday, he said, “I look forward to working with President Biden to pass a big, bold plan that will drive America forward for decades to come.”
