Biden to put infrastructure ahead of health and family care

President Joe Biden will split his sweeping plan to modernize the country’s infrastructure into two distinct pieces that he will unveil weeks apart, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday.

Psaki told Fox News on Sunday that Biden would unveil the first part of his plan, focusing on things such as rebuilding roads and railroads on Wednesday. The second part of Biden’s plan will include reforms to child care and health care – aspects of what is sometimes referred to as social infrastructure – and will be released “in just a few weeks,” she said. declared.

The New York Times reported Monday that Biden’s advisers are recommending that Biden separate traditional infrastructure proposals from other aspects of his plan to ease the burden on families through social services. Taken together, the legislation is expected to cost over $ 3 trillion.

Some Biden advisers believe that splitting the package and pushing for the proposed roads and bridges first could make it easier to gain Republican support, the Times reported. Documents examined by the newspaper indicated that it could include $ 1 trillion spent largely on building and repairing physical infrastructure, with a focus on tackling climate change.

The second part of Biden’s plan would include proposals such as free community college and universal preschool, the Times reported. Psaki said the second plan “will address a lot of the issues that Americans are grappling with,” and cited child care and the cost of health care.

Psaki suggested Biden’s proposal could come with tax increases, but declined to provide details.

“We’re still working on the whole package, but he’s going to come up with ways to pay for it, and he’s also looking forward to hearing ideas from both sides,” she said.

Biden has said he intends to raise taxes for wealthy individuals and businesses, although he has yet to provide a detailed plan for doing so.

Republicans are widely opposed to tax increases. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said there will be “no enthusiasm on our side for higher taxes” to fund infrastructure.

Discussions about Biden’s next big push on the economy come just weeks after the president signed a $ 1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, which included funding for vaccine distribution as well as stimulus payments for most Americans.

Coronavirus legislation was passed without any Republican support through a special congressional mechanism known as budget reconciliation. The set of nearly $ 2 trillion was financed by federal borrowing.

The White House has not said whether it will use reconciliation to pass legislation related to its infrastructure program, although it seems likely that the separation of the two parts of the plan is intended to avoid the streamlined process for at least one project. of law.

Republicans and Democrats have been pushing for a bipartisan infrastructure deal for years.

“We’re not quite at the legislative strategy level yet, Chris, but I’ll say I don’t think Republicans in this country think we should be 13th in the world when it comes to infrastructure,” said Psaki to Chris Wallace.

“Roads, railways, rebuilding them, it’s not a partisan issue. It’s a lot of what the president will be talking about this Wednesday,” she said.

Psaki did not say whether the plan would be limited to two pieces of legislation or whether more separate bills could be introduced.