Many construction companies are waiting on Washington to come to an agreement on the Biden Administration's American Jobs Plan so they can start digging, continue working, or begin the process of planning future projects.
Democrats reduced the $2.3 trillion proposed plan to $1.7 trillion in an effort to appease Republicans who are concerned about out-of-control spending.
Another element of the plan that has both sides at a standstill is how the money will be used. Not only does President Biden want to allocate money into traditional surface transportation projects but he also wants funds to focus on fighting climate change and improving social programs. Biden believes those two area fall under the infrastructure umbrella.
In the new proposal the White House reduced spending by $600 billion. The changes include cutting $120 billion from road and bridge construction, and reduce broadband funding to $65 billion.
President Biden abruptly ended a call Tuesday night with West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito after five minutes discussing plan compromises.
“While I appreciate President Biden’s willingness to devote so much time and effort to these negotiations, he ultimately chose not to accept the very robust and targeted infrastructure package, and instead, end our discussions,” Capito said in a statement following the call.
As always, the question where all this money will come from is a divisive one. Biden plans to pay for the infrastructure portion by raising corporate taxes, while Republicans are seeking alternative methods including user-based fees and idle coronavirus relief money.
Lawmakers could attempt to deliver a separate $303 billion surface transportation authorization bill that would provide 34% more money than the five-year bill passed in 2015, allowing states to move ahead with projects this year.
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