The Biden/Harris Three Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Plan Appears to be Taking Shape

Photo from John Hopkins University 

 $1.9 Trillion allocated in the American Rescue Plan.

To paraphrase Al Jolson, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

According to reporting from the New York Times and Washington Post, the Biden/Harris Administration team is preparing an approximately three trillion-dollar infrastructure plan built on the themes on Biden's "Build Back Better" campaign plans that will include provisions for:

• Investments in American Manufacturing and advanced industries.
• Infrastructure improvements on America's roads, bridges, railways, shipping ports, electric charging stations for electric vehicles, electric grid, and airlines with a clean energy emphasis.
• Expanding rural broadband.
• Worker training.
• One million affordable and energy-efficient houses.
• Investing in human capital programs like free community college, universal pre k, and a national paid leave program, and child care cost reductions.
• Permanent expansion of the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits.
• Having the United States government negotiate prescription drug prices.

Moving Forward

Questions moving forward on this visionary program are:

• How is it going to be paid for? The Biden/Harris team has indicated wanting to raise taxes on individuals making more than $400,000 a year and qualifying corporations. Republicans are of course against tax increases and infrastructure modernizing commerce groups do not want to pay for any new spending out of corporate coffers. Moderate Democrats and many who consistently care about the national debt (that leaves out most members of the former Party of Lincoln) want at least some of this initiative to be paid for.
• Is this one bill or many bills? Will the Biden/Harris team break this up into several bills that will make it easier for a bipartisan group of Senators and House Representatives to swallow or will they put everything in the one huge legislative basket? That may depend on the answer to the third question.
• Will President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Congressional Democratic Leaders use their second reconciliation ticket for this year? If most Republicans behave, as expected, and attempt to obstruct the passage of these proposals like those on promoting clean energy (remember the Senate needs ten Republicans to cross over and support any measure,) do not be surprised if Democrats put everything in one bill and ram it through reconciliation like the American Rescue Plan.

There is widespread support for modernizing infrastructure, converting to clean energy, free community college, universal pre k, reducing child poverty, and having the government negotiate lower prescription drug prices. 

More details and answers will be revealed when the Administration releases its proposals.

The Biden/Harris team should continue fashioning legislation that the people will support like the American Rescue Plan and the coming infrastructure proposals.

The people in the former Party of Lincoln should start listening to the people and what they want instead of looking for ways to suppress their voice and votes.