How Biden’s $2T Infrastructure Plan Could Benefit U.S. Cities

WASHINGTON, DC — The nation’s crumbling infrastructure is in for an enormous overhaul in a $2 trillion package President Joe Biden unveiled Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

The American Jobs Plan calls for more than patching the nation’s roads, bridges, and public transportation. It would also create millions of new U.S. jobs over the next 8 years, White House officials said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told The Associated Press the plan is “about making an investment in America — not just modernizing our roads or railways or bridges but building an infrastructure of the future.”

Wednesday’s announcement outlined the first of a two-part plan. The final part will focus on the "care economy," CNN reported, by tackling key domestic economic issues. Recommendations for the final part have not yet been finalized, the CNN report added.

Here’s what we know about the proposed infrastructure plan and what it could mean for U.S. communities:

1. The nation’s infrastructure is in desperate need of repair.

From roads to public transit, the nation’s infrastructure is falling apart, according to an analysis by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The U.S. scored a C- in the group’s 2021 infrastructure report card, released earlier this month. It's the first time the nation received a grade higher than a D since the survey began in 1998, CNN reported.

What qualifies as infrastructure? The nation’s public transportation, aviation, dams, bridges, levees, public parks, roads, schools and wastewater all make up the U.S. infrastructure.

The U.S. rail system earned a B, the highest grade in any category, according to the report. Lagging behind others is the country’s public transit system.

2. Here’s which sectors will benefit from the plan.

A large chunk of the plan — about $621 billion — would be used for massive improvements on roads, bridges, public transit, electric vehicle charging stations and other transportation infrastructure in communities.

Here’s where the rest of the money will go, according to several reports:

• $400 billion for home health care for aging and disabled Americans.
• $300 billion to manufacturing industries to improve the nation’s ability to respond to future pandemics and purchases that would boost the clean energy industry.
• $213 billion to build and retrofit affordable and energy-efficient housing.
• $180 billion to advance the United States as a leader in climate science, innovation, and research and development.
• $111 billion to rebuild water infrastructure by replacing all lead pipes and service lines.
• $100 billion to build new public schools and upgrade existing schools with better ventilation systems, updated labs, and improved school kitchens.
• $100 billion to workforce development, including assistance to displaced workers and underserved groups.

3. The plan calls for complete access to broadband internet.

The pandemic has been a glaring reminder that not all parts of the United States enjoy access to fast, reliable internet.

Biden aims to change that with his infrastructure plan.

The plan calls for $100 billion to build infrastructure to bring broadband access to every U.S. community.

A 2019 Federal Communications Commission broadband report estimates that more than 21 million people in America — nearly 17 million of whom live in rural communities — don’t have access to broadband.

The number of Americans who don’t use high-speed internet is even higher.

According to Microsoft, which in 2017 launched the Microsoft Airband Initiative to bring broadband connectivity to people living in underserved rural areas, half of Americans — or 157.3 million people — do not use high-speed internet at all. While many of these people may have access to broadband, Microsoft says, they usually live in communities without the necessary resources to secure it.

4. Big businesses will pay it.

The $2 trillion needed to fund the first phase of the plan will come by raising the corporate income tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent, CNN reported. The rate previously was as high as 35 percent before former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans cut taxes in 2017.

The proposal also calls for raising the global minimum tax, which would deter companies from moving money to international bank accounts. Biden would also make it harder for U.S. companies to merge with foreign companies, a tactic used so companies can avoid paying taxes by claiming they’re not U.S.-based.

5. Once unveiled, the plan heads to Congress.

Wednesday’s announcement kicks off what’s sure to be a long negotiation in Congress, which eventually will be required to pass the plan.

Before Biden spoke in Pittsburgh, Republicans were already panning the plan, according to an Associated Press report.

“It seems like President Biden has an insatiable appetite to spend more money and raise people’s taxes,” Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the GOP whip, said in an interview.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell dismissed Biden’s package as nothing more than a “Trojan horse” for tax hikes.

“This is not going to be apparently an infrastructure package,” said McConnell, who also said Biden called him about the plan on Tuesday. “It’s called infrastructure. But inside the Trojan horse there’s going to be more borrowed money and massive tax increases on all the productive parts of our economy.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.