PITTSBURGH, Pa. — President Joe Biden unveiled his $2.3 trillion plan to reengineer the nation’s infrastructure for the next eight years on Wednesday, which includes raising taxes on corporations.
Speaking in Pittsburgh, Biden promised results and called it “a once in a generation investment in America”.
“It’s not a plan that tinkers around the edges,” Biden said. “It’s a once-in-a-generation investment in America unlike anything we’ve seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades ago. In fact, it’s the largest American jobs investment since World War II. It will create millions of jobs, good-paying jobs.”
The White House said the spending would result in new jobs as the country shifts away from fossil fuels to combat the challenge of climate change. The funding for the infrastructure projects would come from a raise on corporate taxes and reduce the deficit going forward.
By doing this, Biden would undo the actions by former President Donald Trump lift the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from the 21 percent rate set by Trump in 2017.
The proposed bill also includes investments in child care, family tax credits and other domestic programs.
“Wall Street didn’t build this country,” Biden said. “You, the great middle class, built this country. And unions built the middle class. Ninety-one Fortune 500 Companies, including Amazon, pay not a single solitary penny in income tax.”
Biden making the announcement in Pittsburgh was no accident. He launched his campaign there in 2019 and won Pittsburgh and its surrounding county to help clinch the presidency.
The White Houses says the largest portion of the bill includes $621 billion for roads, bridges, public transit, electric vehicle charging stations and other transportation infrastructure. $111 billion would go towards replacing lead water pipes and upgrade sewers.
The biggest issue surrounding the new bill is getting support from Republicans. Biden appealed for conservatives to support the bill but it seems Democrats will likely need to get the votes on their own through the budget reconciliation process.
“I’m going to bring Republicans into the Oval Office, listen to them, what they have to say and be open to other ideas,” Biden said. “We’ll have a good faith negotiation. Any Republican who wants to help get this done. But we have to get it done.”
