WASHINGTON (AP) – With the passage of the COVID-19 relief bill, President Joe Biden brings together the White House’s next high priority, a broad $ 3 trillion investment package in infrastructure and domestic needs.
Biden met privately on Monday afternoon with Senate Democrats as Congress already began laying the groundwork for legislation for the development of roads, hospitals and green energy systems as part of the promise of Biden’s “Build Back Better” campaign. Like the $ 1.9 trillion virus rescue plan signed into law earlier this month, the new package would also include policies for families, this time focused on education and paid family leave.
White House plans are still preliminary, with a combined $ 3 trillion spending proposed to boost the economy and improve quality of life, according to a person familiar with the options who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations .
While the goal is a bipartisan package, Democrats in Congress have expressed a willingness to go it alone if they are blocked by Republicans.
“We have to do it,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Said before the virtual meeting with Biden at the senators ’annual retreat Monday evening.
Biden’s spread to Senate Democrats comes when the White House is on fire for its handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Migrant crossings are soaring, with images of narrow exploitation facilities posing a humanitarian and political dilemma for the administration and its allies in Congress. The focus on infrastructure shifts attention to potentially more popular priorities among Americans and potentially bipartisan.
An infrastructure package would include approximately $ 1 trillion for roads, bridges, railroads, electric vehicle charging stations and the cellular network, among other items. The aim would be to facilitate the shift towards cleaner energy while improving economic competitiveness.
A second component would include investments in workers with free community universities, universal preschool, and paid family leave.
No part of the proposal has been finalized and the possible details of any expenses could change.
The general price first reported Monday by the New York Times has been circulating on Capitol Hill for weeks since Biden’s presidency began. With the House and Senate under democratic control, the proposals are expected to gain the support of all corners of Congress.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called earlier this month that Democratic committee chairs begin working with their Republican counterparts to begin “crafting a large package of bold, transformative infrastructure.”
Pelosi said the goal is to quickly build on the coronavirus rescue plan by developing a financial aid plan to help “people of all zip codes create well-paid jobs for the future.”
The administration is setting its priorities at a politically and fiscally sensitive time, after financing its $ 1.9 trillion debt package entirely with debt. The Federal Reserve estimates that spending could boost growth this year to 6.5%, and that additional spending would only add pressure to an economy that is already expected to be hot.
Biden’s campaign proposed higher corporate taxes and increases on people earning more than $ 400,000 a year, effectively undoing much of the 2017 tax cuts of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
A White House official said the president has been very clear on his agenda, though details are only just beginning to surface. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.
On Monday, the House Trade and Energy Committee debated a measure of more than $ 300 billion to invest in drinking water, broadband and other priorities. On Thursday, Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg will have to appear before the Transport and Infrastructure Committee. Next week, the Senate Finance Committee plans to publish a white paper reviewing the overseas tax code as a way to pay part of the spending.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell used his initial statements Monday in the Senate to overturn the infrastructure proposal, warning that it would only lead to tax hikes and what he called “left-wing policies.”
“We are hearing that in the coming months it could bring a so-called infrastructure proposal that could be a Trojan horse for massive tax hikes and other left-wing policies that get jobs,” he said.
He mocked democratic proposals similar to the Green New Deal, a global plan to tackle climate change that he said would cost “incredible sums.”
Biden is expected to roll out his budget in the coming weeks as Congress moves forward on the infrastructure package, which lawmakers have said could be ready for the summer.