Now that his massive package of coronavirus reliefs is law, President Joe Biden is putting forward his next great proposition: an approximately two trillion dollars in infrastructure improvement and greener energy change over the next eight years.
It will be the opening step for what will be a months-long negotiation with Congress, dubbed the American Jobs plan, on a Wednesday event held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The infrastructure of the country is in urgent need of repair. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave it a C-, stating that an additional $2.6 trillion in funding is expected over the next decade. However, Biden is selling his proposal as an investment in communities of color, rural Americans, and those who are suffering from decay or a lack of modernization.
The infrastructure investment package is the first of a two-part proposal to assist the recovery of the nation’s economy following the coronavirus pandemic. In the coming weeks, the President is expected to unveil his “care economy” package, which will include investments in education and child care.
The President intends to fund this portion of his recovery plan by raising corporate taxes, which the administration claims would generate more than $2 trillion over the next 15 years. According to the White House, here’s what we know so far about Biden’s infrastructure plan.
Biden’s recovery proposals provide financing for upgrades to highways, bridges, railways, and other infrastructure. He says it would build “very good-paying jobs” and increase the country’s competitiveness.
In order to improve air quality, minimize pollution, and curb greenhouse gas emissions, Biden proposes spending $621 billion on highways, bridges, public transportation, rail, ports, rivers, airports, and electric vehicles.
His initiative calls for $115 billion to be spent on modernizing 20,000 miles of highways, bridges, and main streets, as well as $20 billion to be spent on improving road safety for all users. It will restore the “most economically important big bridges” as well as the 10,000 worst smaller bridges.
In addition, Biden will spend $85 billion to modernize existing transit networks and assist agencies in expanding their systems to meet demand. This will result in a twofold increase in federal support for public transportation.
Another $80 billion will be used to fix Amtrak’s backlog of repairs and to modernize the Northeast Corridor line between Boston and Washington, DC, which Biden has relied on for decades to get home to Delaware, as well as to link more cities.
In addition, the President recommends allocating $25 billion for airports and $17 billion for inland waterways, ports, and ferries.
Biden also proposes a $174 billion investment in the electric vehicle industry to hasten the transition to electric vehicles. It involves offering rebates and tax incentives to customers who purchase American-made electric vehicles, as well as grant and incentive programs to help create a nationwide network of 500,000 charging stations by 2030. It will also electrify at least 20% of yellow school buses and replace 50,000 diesel transit vehicles.
Biden suggests investing $400 billion to enhance caregiving for the elderly and disabled in the United States.
His proposal will increase Medicaid access to long-term care facilities, removing hundreds of thousands of people from the waiting list. It would increase the number of individuals who may receive treatment at home from community-based providers or family members.
It will also increase the salaries of home health staff, who currently receive about $12 per hour. According to the administration, one out of every six people is bad. It would set up an infrastructure that would allow caregivers to enter a union.
During his presidential campaign, Biden promised to spend $450 billion to enable more seniors and their families to receive treatment at home or in their neighborhoods rather than in nursing homes or other institutions.
