President Biden Unveils $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Aiming to Boost Economy, Combat Climate Change, and Address Racial Equity

President Joe Biden is set to launch a sweeping $2 trillion investment in the nation's infrastructure, covering everything from roads and bridges to waterways, airports, and broadband. The proposal aims to create an economic boom, fight climate change, advance racial equity, and boost American competitiveness. The plan, which will be unveiled in a speech in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, includes a series of business tax code changes, such as increasing the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, to pay for the infrastructure improvements within 15 years.

Key Takeaways:

• The plan invests $621 billion in transportation and resilience, including the construction of infrastructure that can withstand climate change-driven extreme weather events.
• $400 billion will be spent on "care" infrastructure, expanding access to care for the aging and those with disabilities, including long-term care services under Medicaid.
• $100 billion will be invested in workforce development programs, and an additional $100 billion will be spent on expanding high-speed broadband.
• The plan includes $213 billion to build, retrofit, and preserve more than two million affordable places to live, as well as $100 billion to upgrade and build new public schools.
• The proposal also aims to rebuild the nation's water infrastructure, which in some cases dates to the 1800s, with a $111 billion investment.
• Biden calls for eliminating all lead pipes and service lines, investing $45 billion in the EPA's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act grants.
• The plan includes $56 billion in grants and loans to states to modernize aging wastewater systems.
• Biden's proposal also includes $10 billion to modernize and upgrade federal buildings, and $18 billion to modernize Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics.

Statistics:

• The $2 trillion proposal amounts to about 1 percent of the GDP per year over eight years.
• The plan includes $621 billion in transportation and resilience investments.
• $400 billion will be spent on "care" infrastructure.
• $100 billion will be invested in workforce development programs, and an additional $100 billion will be spent on expanding high-speed broadband.
• The plan includes $213 billion to build, retrofit, and preserve more than two million affordable places to live.
• Biden proposes $100 billion in upgrading and building new public schools.
• The proposal also aims to invest $111 billion in rebuilding the nation's water infrastructure.

Sources:

• CQ News (2021) President Biden Unveils $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan.
• (2021) Fact sheet on the infrastructure plan.