Reaction to Biden plan split on party lines
By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com
President Joe Biden visited Pittsburgh Wednesday to reveal his $2.3 trillion plan to rebuild the country’s infrastructure, a move some local officials are calling a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Biden hopes the plan shifts the United States away from fossil fuels and combats climate change, makes the country more competitive with China in technology, increases the number of homes with broadband networks, creates millions of jobs and levels the playing field in corporate tax structures by raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.
By raising the corporate tax rate, Biden will reverse former President Donald Trump’s 2017 corporate tax cut.
Biden spoke Wednesday afternoon at a Pittsburgh-area carpenters union training facility. In the Mon Valley, elected officials, many of them Democrats, gave their support to his plan.
“It was an honor he was able to reveal the plan here in Pittsburgh,” said Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli, the lone Democrat among the county’s commissioners. “This is going to be so huge for so many communities across the nation. This is going to put us on pace with China. It’s a win-win for everybody. We have a lot of projects on our radar. We’re hoping Westmoreland County gets their fair share of this.”
Proposed expenditures include $621 billion for roads, bridges, public transit, electric vehicle charging stations and other transportation infrastructure, $111 billion for lead water pipes and sewer upgrades, $100 billion for broadband expansion and another $100 billion for power grid upgrades.
Because Democrats hold slim majorities in the House and Senate, the infrastructure plan is expected to pass by this summer.
“If it passes even somewhat in the form he’s written it, it’s going to be a game changer for us,” said Democratic Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi. “You will not be able to get a contractor for the next couple of years because there will be so much work getting done. That’s how massive it’s going to be.
“Nobody will argue our infrastructure is decaying. Everybody agrees there’s a problem. We’ve not addressed this problem in years; we’ve just put Band-Aids on it. We’re beyond the Band-Aid. It will be very difficult to bury our head in the sand on this one. It will affect everyone, not just a few people.”
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