The first phase of the “Build Back Better” program, which he will present in a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will detail those investments planned for eight years.
The first phase of the “Build Back Better” program, which he will present in a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will detail those investments planned for eight years.
The plan includes allocating the US $ 620,000 million to the transportation sector to modernize more than 32,000 km of roads and highways and repair some 10,000 bridges throughout the United States.
The president ” thinks his role is to offer a bold perspective on how we can invest in our country, our communities, our workers, ” said his spokesperson, Jen Psaki.
According to the White House, after that increase, the rate would remain at its lowest level since World War II; Except for the years in which Trump's tax reform, approved in 2017, was in force.
The new legislative offensive comes shortly after Congress approved a $ 1.9 trillion plan to repair the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the economy.
This Wednesday's speech will be just the starting point of a battle in Congress that is predicted as harsh as it is uncertain.
For New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the proposed amounts are simply ” insufficient .”
For Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso, on the contrary, the bill is nothing more than a “Trojan horse” to allow Democrats to “spend more and raise taxes.”
The truth is that the next few months will put Biden's negotiating skills to the test, a former senator called the “Old Lion” of politics by Barack Obama, of whom he was vice president in his two terms.
“Urgency to act”
” The president wants to clearly show that he has a plan and that he is open to discussion, ” said a senior White House official.
” But it will not make commitments under the urgency to act” and the need to be ambitious to “reimagine” a “new American economy,” he added.
The plan considers expanding ” the revolution of electric cars ” with, for example, the switch to electric buses of 20% of those destined for school transport.
It also considers building infrastructures that are more resistant to the evolutions linked to climate change.
Repairing or building roads, bridges, railways, ports, and airports is an idea that speaks volumes to Americans in general, since much of the country's infrastructure dates back to the 1950s and its deterioration is unquestionable.
But beyond the hackneyed phrase ” Democrats and Republicans can agree on this issue, ” reaching consensus will not be easy.
Trump and Obama, the two predecessors of Biden, also said similar phrases about possible agreements and made big promises in this area, which ended up being a dead letter.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who will be at the forefront of the plan, believes that this time the stars will get aligned.
” We have an extraordinary opportunity to win the support of the two parties to think big and to show boldness in infrastructure, ” said Buttigieg.
” It is not necessary to explain to Americans that we must work on infrastructure and the reality is that the climate dimension cannot be separated ” from this challenge, he said.
Joshua Bolten, president of the employers' organization Business Roundtable, opposed any increase in corporate tax to finance infrastructure.
” Policymakers should avoid creating new obstacles to job creation and growth, particularly in a recovery period, ” he said.
