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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden decided to convince America it needed its $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure plan on Thursday, replacing a five-member ‘jobs cabinet’ for help in this effort. But the enormity of his task was clear when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to oppose the plan “every step of the way.”
Speaking in Kentucky, McConnell said he personally loved Biden and they had been friends for a long time. But the president won’t get any cooperation from the GOP, which opposes the corporate tax increases in the plan and says they would hurt America’s ability to compete in a global economy.
“We have big philosophical differences, and this will make it more and more difficult for us to reach bipartite agreements.Said the Republican leader.
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said the key to any outreach is that the ideas in the proposal are already popular. Americans want smooth roads, safe bridges, reliable public transportation, electric vehicles, clean water, new schools, and investment in manufacturing, among the many elements of the plan., he said.
“We kind of think it’s fair,” Klain said in a TV interview with the Politico news organization. “But we’re happy to have a conversation with people, less about the price, more about what should be in the plan that people think are missing.”
These conversations could be limited to Democrats, as McConnell said: “I’m going to fight them every step of the way.”
At his first meeting, Biden told his cabinet he was recruiting several to help him: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
“Working with my team here at the White House, each member of Cabinet will represent me in dealings with Congress, engage the public in selling the plan, and help organize the details as we refine and refine it. let’s move on, ”Biden said.
The task will involve a lot of sales talent for a hereditary bill that Biden announced in a speech on Wednesday.
Its administration must influence Congress. He must rally the voters. He is also looking to outside economists to support the plan.
He watches Wall Street for any celebration or nervousness. He forms alliances with advocates, while also dealing with critics of the plan’s corporate tax hikes and project details. And Biden’s administration also intends, according to the plan, to get other nations to stop cutting their own tax rates in what has been a race to the bottom to attract and retain multinational companies. .
Biden’s vehicle to finance his infrastructure projects is a key dividing line. Republicans oppose increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, one of many changes to make business taxes fund infrastructure. Republicans cut the corporate rate by 35% in 2017, a landmark political achievement of Donald Trump’s presidency.
In Washington and the boardrooms, the administration is drawing its share of praise and scolding for his proposal.
In Biden’s own party, Liberal Democrats in Congress want him to grow taller. And Democrats representing high-tax states want to remove a 2017 tax code change that limited state and local tax deductions for individuals.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has expressed no qualms about the scope of the proposal.
“It was in the American tradition – to think big,” Pelosi said at a press conference Thursday. “And now, in this century, President Biden is undertaking something in the tradition of thinking big, transforming and creating jobs for America.”
While many prominent business groups oppose the tax increase, some large companies see reason for optimism because of the innovations that would be encouraged by the plan.
Automakers Ford, General Motors and Toyota have endorsed broad concepts of Biden’s plan, which calls for the construction of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2030, which would constitute a move away from gasoline-powered cars.
But some environmentalists have said that dropping the plan for fossil fuels that cause climate change was not substantial enough.
“Biden is committed to cutting carbon emissions by 50% and decarbonizing our electricity sector, but that proposal won’t even come close,” said Brett Hartl, director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity.
The White House was quick to respond to concerns about climate change. Climate adviser Gina McCarthy said the administration expects the infrastructure package to include Biden’s commitment to set a national standard requiring utilities to produce 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035.
The proposed electricity standard “is going to be pretty robust, and it’s going to be inclusive,” McCarthy said. “I think there are different ways we can get the results we’re looking for. If a clean energy standard can be set, we believe it should be. ”
For every criticism of the details of the plan, there was also applause for its broader approach.
Harvard University economist Larry Summers, former Treasury secretary, endorsed Biden’s plan, having previously criticized the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan for its size and size. debt-based financing.
He downplayed the risks of corporate tax hikes because low interest rates mean the costs of raising capital are already low for many companies.
“I’m excited,” Summers said on Twitter. “The capacity of the economy will increase.”
The plan also has a political dimension as unions rally to push through the package, a big boost given recent Republican steady gains among working-class voters. Biden’s plan, which emphasizes construction and manufacturing jobs, has the potential to reverse some of that slide – and the unions that backed it in 2020 promise to help vote on infrastructure.
“Our members are an army of half a million people, who will make calls, visit members of Congress and rally for good jobs in building our nation’s infrastructure,” said Terry O’ Sullivan, general president of the International Union of Workers of North America, one of the largest construction unions. “We did it with boots on the pitch to get President Biden elected.”
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AP journalists Darlene Superville, Matthew Daly and Tom Krisher contributed to this report.
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