WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden yesterday began laying out his proposals for fixing the aging, underfunded infrastructure in the world’s biggest economy.
His proposals will go through the legislative sausage-making machine that is the US Congress, and actual investments at the other end may be very different.
His remarks (early Thursday Malaysian time), in Pittsburgh, would be viewed by companies, investors, local governments and voters as an indication of where billions of federal dollars may flow in the years to come.
Biden, who took office 10 weeks ago, was to outline the first part of some US$3 trillion (RM12.4 trillion) to US$4 trillion in spending proposals expected over the next 10 years devoted to fixing the country’s crumbling roads, transport, sewage systems and other essential links, officials said.
A second proposal, expected in several weeks, will focus “squarely on creating economic security for the middle class through investments in childcare, healthcare, education and other areas,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday.
Precise details remain scarce; the proposal is expected to hew closely to Biden’s campaign-trail promises. These include money for repairing highways, ports, airports, railways, public schools, water systems, the power grid and sewage systems.
But they also include new investments such as expanding high-speed internet to rural areas that lack great telecoms coverage and creating power networks for electric vehicles.
Biden has long maintained he will seek to roll back some of the Republican tax cuts of 2017, putting corporate tax rates back to 28%, and increase taxes on the wealthiest families, those making more than US$400,000. Such proposals could spark tough fights in Congress.
Officials say he will not raise low US petrol taxes, which have been traditionally used to fund highway and mass transit plans.
The proposals could include new government bonds or other federal revenue, or some private investment.
The White House is hopeful that at least 10 Republicans in the evenly split 100-seat Senate will vote for a straight-up infrastructure package that reflects Biden’s priorities. That way, it could pass Congress with bipartisan support in coming months, before the government needs to turn to a budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct 1.
If it does not, one option is to attach it to a budget “reconciliation” bill which needs just a simple majority to pass. It could clear the 50-50 Senate if all Democrats approve with Vice-President Kamala Harris breaking the tie.
The US is spending just half of what is required to maintain its infrastructure needs, the American Society of Civil Engineers said this month.
Surface transportation, water systems, and schools are the most in need of help, the group said, and the country needs to spend US$2.59 trillion in the next 10 years to fix existing infrastructure. – Reuters
Source: The Sun Daily
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