The roughly $2 trillion plan aims to improve the nation’s infrastructure and shift to greener energy. Here’s what is in the proposal.
The White House plans to pay for the proposal by raising corporate taxes and eliminating tax breaks for fossil fuels. The second part of the package focusing on the “care economy” is expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
Our live coverage has ended for the day. You can read more about Biden’s infrastructure plan here.
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Biden says he's open to ideas on how to pay for the American Jobs Plan
From CNN's Jason Hoffman
President Biden expressed an openness to listen to ideas on how to pay for his American Jobs Plan on Wednesday, but stressed that the time to act is now on his sweeping infrastructure and jobs proposal.
Biden said he plans raise the cooperate tax rate to 28% up from 21%.
“No one should be able to complain about that. It’s still lower than what that rate was between World War II and 2017. Just doing that one thing will generate $1 trillion in additional revenue over 15 years,” he said.
He said the plan will also establish a global minimum tax for cooperation’s and eliminate deductions corporations currently receive for offshoring jobs.
“All this adds up to more than what I proposed to spend in just 15 years. It’s honest. It’s fiscally responsible, and by the way, as the experts will tell you, it reduces the debt,” Biden said.
He called on Republicans to come together in a bipartisan effort to pass the infrastructure bill, though they have spoken out against raising taxes in the past.
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Biden: "The divisions of the moment shouldn't stop us from doing the right thing for the future"
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
President Joe Biden delivers a speech on infrastructure spending at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center on Wednesday, March 31, in Pittsburgh.
Evan Vucci/AP
President Biden called for bipartisan support for his $2 trillion infrastructure plan during his remarks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Biden cited how in the past, Republican presidents have pushed through major infrastructure plans in a bipartisan matter from Abraham Lincoln to Dwight Eisenhower.
“I don’t think you’ll find a Republican today, in the House or Senate, maybe I’m wrong, gentlemen, who doesn’t think we don’t have to improve our infrastructure. They know China and other countries are eating our lunch. So there’s no reason why it can’t be bipartisan again,” Biden said.
Biden confirmed he’s spoken to Republican leader Mitch McConnell about the plan.
“I spoke to the Majority Leader, no longer, I guess he’s no longer the majority leader,” Biden said Wednesday. “He has been for a long time. I spoke for, I spoke to the Republican leader about the plan. Everybody’s for doing something about infrastructure. Why haven’t we done it? Well, no one wants to pay for it.”
CNN’s DJ Judd contributed reporting to this post.
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Here's how environmental groups are reacting to Biden's plan
From CNN’s Drew Kann
President Joe Biden delivers a speech on infrastructure spending at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center on Wednesday, March 31, in Pittsburgh.
Evan Vucci/AP
The reaction from environmental groups and climate policy experts to the unveiling of President Biden’s new infrastructure plan was mostly positive, but some advocates say the plan does not meet the urgency of the current climate crisis.
Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor at Princeton University who studies energy systems and policy, told CNN the plan has the potential to have a transformative impact on accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy.
The transportation sector is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the US economy, according to EPA data. Jenkins said the $174 billion investment in the plan to advance electric vehicle technology, offer rebates and tax incentives to EV buyers and built out a network of 500,000 charging stations could go a long way towards reducing emissions in the US and creating jobs.
The nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) also pointed to the transportation investments as a significant step towards decarbonizing the economy and protecting American jobs.
“President Biden’s bold action to invest in clean transportation is one of the biggest steps we can take to move America forward,” said EDF president Fred Krupp in a statement. “With this plan, President Biden is standing up for U.S. workers by making the investments we need to win the jobs of the future.”
Others green groups, who had viewed this infrastructure plan as the biggest and best opportunity to pass climate legislation in a Senate with a razor-thin Democratic majority, expressed disappointment at the scope of the plan.
The youth-led climate advocacy group Sunrise Movement, which helped to create the Green New Deal and has called for an investment of at least $1 trillion each year for the next decade to address climate change, said Biden’s plan is a “start.”
“The priorities and approach are right — this contains the frameworks of the Green New Deal — but as of now this plan could only be considered a beginning of that truly transformative vision,” said Varshini Prakash, the Sunrise Movement’s executive director
And the Center for Biological Diversity – a nonprofit focused on conservation issues – said Biden’s plan “squanders one of our last, best chances to stop the climate emergency.”
“Instead of a Marshall Plan approach that moves our economy to renewable energy, it includes gimmicky subsidies for carbon capture, fantastically wishes the free market will save us, and fails to take crucial and ambitious steps toward phasing out fossil fuels,” said Brett Hartl, the center’s government affairs director, in a statement.
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Biden says plan will prioritize investing in American-based companies and products
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
President Joe Biden delivers a speech on infrastructure spending at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center on Wednesday, March 31, in Pittsburgh.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
President Biden said he will prioritize investing in American-based companies, products and workers through contracts in the American Jobs Plan.
“When we make all of these investments, we’re going to make sure, as the executive order I signed early on, that we buy American,” Biden said during his remarks on the $2 trillion proposal.
Biden noted that the investments will reach minority communities who have historically been left out as well.
Biden says his plan will fix the "10 most economically significant bridges in America"
President Joe Biden delivers a speech on infrastructure spending at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center on Wednesday, March 31, in Pittsburgh.
Evan Vucci/AP
President Biden is laying out a roughly $2 trillion plan – dubbed the American Jobs Plan – designed to improve US infrastructure and shift to greener energy over the next eight years.
“The American jobs plan will modernize 20,000 miles of highway, roads and main streets that are in difficult, difficult shape right now,” Biden said in a speech today in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Biden explained his plan will build new rail cars and transit lines to cut both congestion and pollution and it would invest in communities, connecting them to cities with more job opportunities.
Biden calls infrastructure proposal "a once-in-a-generation investment in America" that "rewards work"
President Joe Biden delivers a speech on infrastructure spending at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center on Wednesday, March 31, in Pittsburgh.
Evan Vucci/AP
President Biden touted his massive infrastructure proposal in remarks today, saying it is “a once-in-a-generation investment in America” and “the largest American jobs investment since World War II.”
“Today, I’m proposing a plan for the nation that rewards work, not just rewards wealth. It builds a fair economy that gives everybody a chance to succeed,” Biden said in a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Biden acknowledged that his plan is “big” and “bold,” and said he’s confident the country can “get it done.” The President noted that the plan has two parts to it: The American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.
“Both are essential to our economic future,” he said.
The President focused his remarks today on the first part of the plan, a roughly $2 trillion proposal which aims to improved the nation’s infrastructure and shift to greener energy over the next eight years. He said he would talk about the other part of the package in “a few weeks.”
“But today I want to talk about the American jobs plan. I’ll begin with the heart of the plan. It modernizes transportation infrastructure. Our roads, our bridges, our airports,” Biden said.
“It grows the economy in key ways. It puts people to work to repair and upgrade that we badly need. It makes it easier and more efficient to move goods, to get to work, and to make us more competitive around the world,” he continued.
Biden: This is not to target those who made it, it's about opening up opportunities for everyone else
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
President Biden laid out his $2 trillion infrastructure proposal during his remarks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and addressed concerns about taxing top earners to pay for it.
“This is not to target those who’ve made it, not to seek retribution. This is about opening opportunities for everybody else,” Biden said.
Some more background: Biden plans to pay for his proposal by raising corporate taxes and eliminating tax breaks for fossil fuels, which was one of his core campaign promises. The White House says this tax hike would raise more than $2 trillion over the next 15 years.
CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed reporting to this post
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NOW: Biden is delivering remarks on his infrastructure proposal. Here's what is in the plan.
From CNN's Tami Luhby, Katie Lobosco and Kate Sullivan
President Joe Biden.
Source: Pool
President Biden is laying out his next big proposal in a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The roughly $2 trillion plan aims to improve US infrastructure and shift to greener energy over the next eight years.
The infrastructure spending plan is the first of a two-part proposal to help the nation’s economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The President is expected to unveil his package focusing on the “care economy,” including investments in education and child care, in coming weeks.
Here are some key things we know are in Biden’s infrastructure proposal, according to the White House:
Transportation ($621 billion) Funding improvements to roads, bridges, railways and other infrastructure has been a central piece of Biden’s recovery plans. He has said that it will create “really good-paying jobs” and help the nation compete better. Biden would spend $621 billion on roads, bridges, public transit, rail, ports, waterways, airports and electric vehicles in service of improving air quality, reducing congestion and limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
Home care services and workforce ($400 billion) Biden would provide $400 billion to bolster caregiving for aging and disabled Americans. His plan would expand access to long-term care services under Medicaid, eliminating the wait list for hundreds of thousands of people. It would provide more opportunity for people to receive care at home through community-based services or from family members.
Manufacturing ($300 billion) Biden wants to put $300 billion toward boosting manufacturing. Under his plan, $50 billion of the money would be invested in semiconductor manufacturing and another $30 billion would go towards medical manufacturing to help shore up the nation’s ability to respond to a future outbreak. Some of the funds would be carved out for manufacturers that focus on clean energy, rural communities, and programs that give small businesses access to credit. About $20 billion would be used to create regional innovation hubs that would support community-led projects.
Digital infrastructure ($100 billion) Biden wants to invest $100 billion in order to give every American access to affordable, reliable and high-speed broadband. The proposal would build a high-speed broadband infrastructure in order to reach 100% coverage across the nation. The plan would aim to promote transparency and competition among internet providers.
Housing ($213 billion) The plan would invest $213 billion toward building, renovating and retrofitting more than two million homes and housing units. Biden is calling on Congress to produce, preserve and retrofit more than a million affordable and energy efficient housing units. The plan would also build and rehabilitate more than 500,000 homes for low- and middle-income homebuyers.
Schools ($100 billion) Biden calls for $100 billion to build new public schools and upgrade existing buildings with better ventilation systems, updated technology labs, and improved school kitchens that can prepare more nutritious meals.
Workforce development ($100 billion) The President would allocate $100 billion to workforce development — helping dislocated workers, assisting underserved groups and getting students on career paths before they graduate high school.
Infrastructure negotiations are "going to take some time," White House says ahead of Biden speech
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez
Ahead of President Biden’s remarks this afternoon, White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden’s infrastructure plan is “going to take some time” to negotiate through Congress.
When Jean-Pierre was asked during a gaggle aboard Air Force One if Biden has a timeframe to get infrastructure passed, she said, “With this one, you know, it’s going to take some time.”
On Tuesday, a senior administration official told CNN that the President was aiming to pass his infrastructure proposal through Congress by this summer
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Here's how Biden plans to pay for his massive infrastructure plan
From CNN's Tami Luhby, Katie Lobosco and Kate Sullivan
The roughly $2 trillion plan looks to improve the nation’s infrastructure and shifting to greener energy over the next eight years.
The nation’s infrastructure is sorely in need of repair. It recently earned a C- score from the American Society of Civil Engineers, which said an additional $2.6 trillion in funding is required over the next decade. But Biden is also pitching his plan as an investment to benefit communities of color, rural Americans and others burdened by decay or lagging modernization.
Here’s how Biden plans to pay for his proposal:
Corporate tax hike: Biden would raise the corporate income tax rate to 28%, up from 21%. The rate had been as high as 35% before former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans cut taxes in 2017.
Global minimum tax: The proposal would increase the minimum tax on US corporations to 21% and calculate it on a country-by-country basis to deter companies from sheltering profits in international tax havens.
Tax on book income: The President would levy a 15% minimum tax on the income the largest corporations report to investors, known as book income, as opposed to the income reported to the Internal Revenue Service.
Corporate inversions: Biden would make it harder for US companies to acquire or merge with a foreign business to avoid paying US taxes by claiming to be a foreign company. And he wants to encourage other countries to adopt strong minimum taxes on corporations, including by denying certain deductions to foreign companies based in countries without such a tax.
The package, which could cost between $3 and 4 trillion, includes two pieces:
One piece investing in domestic manufacturing, research and development, the care-giving economy, climate infrastructure and roads, bridges and rail.
The second aimed at childcare, paid family leave, health care and education infrastructure.
He is set to unveil the first part of that proposal and outline how to pay for it in a speech today in Pittsburgh, with the second part to follow in the coming weeks.
The first prong of the White House proposal will be financed in large part through business tax increases, including raising the corporate rate to 28% from its current level of 21%, and increases in the global minimum tax, the ending of federal subsidies for fossil fuel firms and a requirement that multinational corporations pay the US tax rate.
Internal debates on how much of the proposal to pay for have been ongoing for several weeks, with White House officials keenly aware of potential inflationary risks, officials said. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the proposal laid out on Wednesday would include mechanisms to finance the entirety of the package over time.
More on the package: If passed, the bill could amount to a transformation of the American economy amid continued recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, but there is still much to do to build support for the legislation.
In a sign of how quickly the administration is moving on its next major legislative priority, the senior official told CNN the White House wants to see substantive progress on advancing the legislation by Memorial Day — May 31 — as they work with Congress, which gives them just two months.
While Democrats have been laying the groundwork on Capitol Hill in anticipation of a push toward infrastructure, there are still glaring differences within Congress about how to proceed, all of which could slow the White House’s ambitious timeline.
Democrats are still having discussions about how they want to pay for the bill and how much of it they want to pay for. Leadership will also have to carefully thread the needle between pushing green energy initiatives in the bill, but not so aggressively that they lose Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a key moderate vote.
Technology accounts for a big chunk of Biden's infrastructure plan. Here's look at some key initiatives.
From CNN’s Brian Fung
Allen Scott and Seth Dawson, both with Blue Lightning, work on a hole to join fiber optic cable to provide high speed internet on December 19 in Wiggins, Colorado.
RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/Getty Images
President Biden’s infrastructure plan calls for roughly $2 trillion in spending, highlighting critical new priorities such as climate change as well as more traditional projects such as repairing roads and bridges.
But a review of Biden’s plan shows that technology-related spending accounts for an enormous share — at least 25% — of that proposal, illustrating how the administration views tech as a vital, cross-cutting component of its wider economic and climate agenda.
From increased funding for ultra-fast internet connections to new programs for high-tech manufacturing and electric vehicles, Biden’s infrastructure plan represents a massive investment in US technological capacity.
According to a White House fact sheet, Biden’s proposal calls for spending at least $500 billion on technology-linked initiatives. By comparison, the infrastructure plan calls for $400 billion for senior caregiving; $213 billion to affordable housing; and $111 billion to revamping America’s water infrastructure.
Here are some key technology-linked initiatives in the plan:
A pillar of Biden’s tech-focused spending is a proposed $100 billion investment in high-speed broadband. The plan calls for achieving “100 percent coverage,” particularly for unserved and underserved areas and tribal lands. Federal estimates show that tens of millions of Americans still lack broadband at home, a digital divide that has been exacerbated during the pandemic as many were forced to work and learn remotely.
In addition, Biden calls for $174 billion that will go toward, among other things, building a national network of half a million electric vehicle chargers by 2030. The money will also be used to encourage automakers to build EVs and cutting-edge batteries within the United States, and to give consumers new incentives to buy electric cars.
The plan proposes $180 billion in technology R&D, focusing on the competitive threat posed by China and on what the administration describes as critical technologies of the future. Covered technologies include artificial intelligence, quantum computing and climate-related research on carbon capture, energy storage and emerging sources of energy such as biofuels and hydrogen.
It also calls for $50 billion specifically to fund semiconductor manufacturing and research, amid a global shortage in chip supply that has made developing a domestic source of semiconductors an urgent priority.
Scattered throughout the proposal, these tech-focused funding threads collectively account for some of the most expensive spending priorities in the entire plan.
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Senate GOP leader says he spoke with Biden yesterday to discuss infrastructure proposal
From CNN's Ali Zaslav
Alex Wong/Getty Images
President Biden called Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday to discuss the President’s $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs proposal, according to the Kentucky lawmaker.
“He called me about it yesterday,” McConnell said during a media availability at a health care training center in Erlanger, Kentucky.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. McConnell’s office declined to comment further or provide a read out of the call.
McConnell said at the news conference, “Let’s see what this infrastructure package looks like,” but again signaled his opposition to the plan, pointing to corporate tax hikes and increasing the national debt
“I can tell you if it’s going to have massive tax increases and trillions more added to the national debt, not likely,” he said of his potential support of the bill.
Asked by local reporters whether he’d get behind a more targeted plan that focused largely on infrastructure — as he argued Biden’s plan does not — McConnell declined to speculate on hypotheticals.
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The infrastructure proposal will likely face challenges in Congress and test Democratic unity
From CNN’s Lauren Fox, Phil Mattingly, and Jason Hoffman
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Democrats on Capitol Hill are bracing for a months-long push that will challenge the dynamics of a party that has shown few cracks in unity over the first several months of a new administration.
Congressional Democrats say they are ready to deliver on Biden’s agenda, but they also note that a two-part, sweeping $4 trillion-plus proposal will be received in a very different manner than Biden’s first significant legislative victory.
But the path to a sweeping package that includes infrastructure, climate, social programs and the thorniest issues on taxes and energy policy is set to lay bare crucial differences between progressives and moderates.
Tensions lie between Democrats who want to pursue infrastructure more narrowly and those who view infrastructure as an opportunity to advance long-held Democratic priorities like paid family leave, raising taxes on corporations, lowering the eligibility age for Medicare and lowering the cost of prescription drugs.
With regards to Republicans, the Biden administration says it will work to get GOP support on the sweeping package, an administration official says Biden is prepared to move to meet the moment.
CNN’s Lauren Fox has previously reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is looking at potentially using the reconciliation process, the same budget process used to pass the American Rescue Plan, again for the American Jobs Plan, meaning Democrats can pass without any GOP support.
However even if they can use the reconciliation process, as noted, keeping the Democratic caucus united is no sure thing.
In a call with her Democratic caucus earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that her goal was to pass Biden’s infrastructure plan by July 4, though she warned members that the deadline could slip into later July, a source familiar with her comments told CNN.
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Biden will unveil part of his massive infrastructure and jobs plan this afternoon. Here's what we know.
From CNN’s Jason Hoffman
Matt Rourke/AP
President Biden will unveil his next legislative priority, a massive infrastructure and jobs plan the White House is calling the “American Jobs Plan,” during a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at 4:20 p.m. ET today.
The sweeping proposal, which will be split into two packages and cost between $3 trillion and $4 trillion, will focus on and invest in four main issues according to the White House:
Transportation infrastructure – including investments in roads, bridges, rail, and other elements of our transportation infrastructure.
Modern housing infrastructure – including investments in broadband, water, power, housing, and buildings.
Infrastructure of the care economy – including investments in home and community-based care for older family members and people with disabilities.
Innovation and R&D infrastructure – including investments in manufacturing, next-generation research and development, high-quality workforce development and critical supply chains.
CNN’s Phil Mattingly has reported that the $2.25 trillion dollar portion of the package would include:
$650 billion for physical infrastructure
$300 billion for housing infrastructure
$300 billion for manufacturing
$300 billion for the electric grid
$400 billion for home caretakers/care for the elderly and disabled.
The plan will, according to an administration official, be paid for over 15 years by what the administration is calling the “Made in America Tax Plan,” which will reform the corporate tax code, including raising the cooperate tax rate to 28%, from its current level of 21%.
An administration official said the economic crisis, along with the pandemic, were the two core issues Biden has been focused on since before he took office, and while the administration has begun to address the pandemic with the passage of the American Rescue Plan, it now turns its focus to the broader economic crisis.
“The President has always communicated an approach and a vision that rescue was just part of the economic challenge he ran for President to address, and that recovery and the work of building back better can come out too soon, so that effort will start in earnest tomorrow,” the official said on a call previewing the President’s announcement.
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Pelosi told House members goal is to pass massive infrastructure measure by July 4
From CNN's Lauren Fox
I a call with her Democratic caucus earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that her goal was to pass President Biden’s infrastructure by July 4, though she warned members that the deadline could slip into later July, a source familiar with her comments told CNN.
This is not a detailed schedule, but a rough outline of what the speaker hopes to see.
The comments come as Biden officially rolls out his infrastructure plan today in remarks in Pittsburgh.
The House will have its work cut out for it in the months ahead as Pelosi must keep her moderates and progressives united as they work through not just a package that aims to rebuild traditional infrastructure projects, but also seeks to reimagine a worker’s infrastructure with paid leave and other benefits.
Discussions about how to pay for the projects will also become ripe territory for potential disagreements and a group of moderate Democrats from the East Coast has already said they won’t accept any tax increases or changes without a roll back of the SALT deduction that limited Americans’ ability to deduct state and local taxes on their federal return.
