Biden Announces American Jobs Plan

President Biden announced his $2 trillion dollar American Jobs Plan on March 31 just weeks after his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was signed into law on March 11. The rescue plan was an economic stimulus bill to speed recovery from the impact of COVID-19. The jobs plan is a proposal to  rebuild America’s infrastructure which Biden said is ranked 13th in the world.

Before an audience in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Biden recalled the beginning of his presidential campaign there two years ago to rebuild the backbone of America. He said, “today I return as your President to lay out the vision of how I believe we do that – rebuild the backbone of America.”

“With the American Rescue Plan, we’re meeting immediate emergencies. Now it’s time to rebuild,” he said. Biden called the plan to rebuild infrastructure a “once-in-a-generation investment in America” and said it was unlike anything since the interstate highway system and the space race of previous decades. He said, “in fact, it’s the largest American jobs investment since World War Two.”

President Biden called it a two-part plan: the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. The announcement in Pittsburgh was to focus on the jobs plan. He said the heart of the jobs plan is to modernize transportation infrastructure including 20,000 miles of roads, 10,000 bridges, new rail corridors, transit lines, and airports.

The plan is aimed at “transformational progress” in dealing with climate change by making infrastructure more secure, resilient, and part of a clean energy future. Biden want to build a nationwide network of 500,000 charging stations and lead the world in manufacturing electric cars and trucks. This change to electric vehicles would be made possible by point-of-sale rebates , tax incentives, and transitioning the federal fleet to electric and hydrogen vehicles.

Biden said that Americans pay too much for internet service. He promises access to high-speed affordable internet for everyone.

His plan would lay thousands of miles of transmission lines as part of a clean electrical grid, cap hundreds of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells, weatherize houses and commercial buildings.

In response to declining public investment in research and development, the plan would increase federal non-defense spending to boost America’s innovative edge in markets like battery technology, biotechnology, computer chips, and clean energy.

With the American Rescue Plan and the American Jobs Plan, President Biden said the estimate of “some Wall Street outfits” is that 18 million jobs will be created over four years. Biden anticipates good-paying jobs. He wants Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act that supports union organization and collective bargaining.

The Biden jobs plan would not increase federal taxes on anyone making under $400,000 per year. It would increase corporate taxes from 21 percent to 28 percent. In his announcement, President Biden qualified the increase saying that it had been 35 percent, which was too high. he said that corporate tax increase would generate $1 trillion in additional revenue over 15 years. Biden observed that some corporations, naming Amazon as one, use loopholes so that they pay no federal income tax. His plan would eliminate corporate deductions for offshoring jobs and shifting assets overseas. Under Biden’s plan, those companies would pay a penalty and companies who locate manufacturing in the United States would get tax credits.

In closing, President Biden said infrastructure has historically been bipartisan and called on Congress to make this a bipartisan undertaking. He pointed out that Abraham Lincoln built the transcontinental railroad and Dwight Eisenhower built the interstate highway system, both Republicans. He said, “the divisions of the moment shouldn’t stop us from doing the right thing for the future.” He promised to be open to Republican ideas.

Biden told his audience that autocrats in the world think they are going to win because democracies can’t reach consensus any longer. Biden said, “That’s what competition between America and China and the rest of the world is all about. It’s a basic question: Can democracies still deliver for their people? Can they get a majority? I believe we can. I believe we must.”

The Biden administration says the plan would be fully paid for within the next 15 years and reduce deficits in the years after if passed alongside Biden’s Made in America corporate tax plan.

The American Jobs Plan would spend:

• $621 billion for transportation infrastructure and resilience
• $111 billion to rebuild clean drinking water infrastructure
• $100 billion to build high-speed internet infrastructure
• $100 billion to renew power infrastructure
• $213 billion to build, preserve, and retrofit more than two million homes and commercial buildings to address the affordable housing crisis
• $400 billion to expanding access to quality, affordable home or community-based care for aging populations and people with disabilities
• $180 billion to invest in Research & Development,
• $300 billion to revitalize manufacturing and small businesses
• $100 billion to invest in workforce development

LINKS

Remarks by President Biden on the American Jobs Plan 
Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center, Pittsburgh, PA • White House Briefing Room • Mar 31, 2021

FACT SHEET: The American Jobs Plan 
White House Briefing Room • Mar 31, 2021