(Photo : Getty Images/Amr Alfiky-Pool)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 09: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as Vice President Kamala Harris listens during the weekly economic briefing in the Oval Office at the White House on April 9, 2021 in Washington, DC.
When President Joe Biden recently declared a $2.3 trillion spending plan, a number of Democrats in Washington grumbled. Their complaints included the price tag was not large enough and that the Washington power grab was not driven enough.
Biden's Infrastructure Plan
According to Biden, he views his over $2 trillion infrastructure plan as simply a starting point for Congress deals, a draft document of ideals wherein "compromise is inevitable." Even as the White House maintains it is seeking for bipartisan engagement, the focus on Capitol Hill is already being overturned from winning over Republicans to gaming out what will be needed to get cut if Democrats end up passing the massive package through the budget maneuver known as reconciliation. This move would necessitate maintaining the caucus united in support.
A crucial period of deals is slated to determine the size and scope of the president's infrastructure package. It will commence this week on Capitol Hill upon lawmakers' return from a two-week recess. According to Biden and Democratic leaders, they are looking to secure Republican support for the package the president revealed in late March, reported The Wall Street Journal.
According to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Biden could change some aspects of his infrastructure proposal. He could be open to breaking it up into many smaller packages. Granholm stated, "The president is willing to negotiate what this looks like. He knows that his current plan is going to be changed. That's the nature of compromise, so whether it is in one big package or several packages, he wants to talk to Republicans," reported ABC News.
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came into defense on Sunday regarding the Biden administration's broad definition of infrastructure in the American Jobs Plan. He said the president is still aiming for GOP support for the plan while seeking progress on it by Memorial Day. According to Buttigieg, "I very much believe that all of these things are infrastructure because infrastructure is the foundation that allows us go about our lives," reported CNN.
Buttigieg also corrected a false claim that he and another White House official touted about Biden's American Jobs Plan. He stated Moody's Analytics actually surmised the proposal would merely create an estimated 2.7 million jobs as opposed to 19 million new jobs they earlier claimed.
In response to a question from Chris Wallace from "Fox News Sunday" regarding the false claim, Sec. Buttigieg remarked he should have been more "precise" in identifying that the estimate of 19 million jobs created under Biden's proposal in the next 10 years is only 2.7 million more jobs than Moody's estimates to be developed without the plan. Buttigieg further clarified it is part of a scenario that Moody's says will add 19 million jobs.
The cost at $2.3 trillion of what Biden is proposing for his infrastructure plan is four times the expenses of the United States in today's dollars to build the national interstate highway system. Biden will reportedly never be able to spend adequately to satisfy Washington Democrats.
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