Biden to announce huge infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh

US president Joe Biden will travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to announce a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure plan, as focus turns to his administration's next legislative priority.

Having passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, Mr Biden is now seeking political support for a massive infrastructure package, which will include funding for traditional projects like roads and railways as well as climate, broadband and green energy investment.

Mr Biden will make the announcement in the old steel city of Pittsburgh, western Pennsylvania, where he launched his bid for president in April 2019.

Speaking on the eve of the announcement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Mr Biden would outline "a broad, bold vision on how we can invest in America, American workers and communities". His proposal will create "good-paying energy and union jobs", she said, and rebuild "parts of our communities that have long been forgotten".

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Noting that America is one of the world’s wealthiest countries, she said that it is 13th place globally when it comes to the quality of its infrastructure.

The price-tag for the infrastructure Bill is likely to be at least $3 trillion, though spread over two sets of proposals, with officials looking at corresponding tax increases, most likely on corporations and high earners.

Republican resistance

Republicans have so far balked at the plan, and are unlikely to lend their support in the House or Senate, with even some Democrats opposed to some of the tax changes under discussion.

In particular, New York Democrats have objected to plans to cap the deductions taxpayers can claim on state and local taxes paid, a move they argue disproportionately affects residents of their state.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer was said to be considering deploying a loophole in the congressional rules which would allow the legislation to pass via budget reconciliation in the Senate – a procedure that bypasses the filibuster rule, which demands a 60-vote majority.

Democrats control just 50 seats in the 100-member chamber, though vice-president Kamala Harris can cast a tie-breaking vote.

The reconciliation procedure was used to pass the American Rescue Plan without the need for Republican support. While generally the process should only be used once a year, Democrats are examining ways to interpret the rules to allow them to pass up to three budget reconciliation Bills this year, including for the infrastructure plan.

Bipartisan issue

At Tuesday's White House briefing, Ms Psaki said that Mr Biden was open to hearing ideas from Republicans as well as Democrats about how to finance the infrastructure plan.

“People might have different ideas how to pay for it, we’re open to hear them,” she said, but she noted that infrastructure investment was not a bipartisan issue but instead is an idea supported by 80 per cent of the public.

Mr Biden on Tuesday signed into law an extension of the payment protection programme – the loan programme for small businesses introduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also on Tuesday, the president unveiled his first slate of judicial appointments. Among the 11 nominees are the first Muslim-American to potentially serve on a district court, and three African-American women, including Ketanji Brown Jackson, to fill the seat on the US federal appeals court in DC which was vacated by Merrick Garland, who is now the attorney general.

The move by Mr Biden to nominate a diverse cohort of judges follows four years of nominations of conservative-leaning judges by former president Donald Trump. Mr Schumer pledged to quickly schedule confirmation hearings and confirm the nominees in a bid to "significantly mitigate the influence of Donald Trump's unqualified, right-wing judges".

“America is so much better when our rich diversity is reflected in every aspect of society, especially our justice system,” he said.