With his $1.9 trillion stimulus plan implemented, President Joe Biden is set to tackle his next major policy initiative: Infrastructure.
Biden will unveil his infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, making the pitch that now is the time for a major upgrade to the American infrastructure.
Like the pandemic relief bill, getting GOP support could be a tall task.
In an interview with CNN, Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested that tax hikes for those making over $400,000 per year could be part of the plan.
'You're going to hear more details from the administration in the coming days about how to pay for this. But one thing I will do is reiterate the president's commitment that his proposals will not raise taxes at all on anyone making under $400,000 a year," Buttigieg said.
Some Republicans say they’ll consider an infrastructure proposal, but are concerned about how to pay for it. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican who sided with Democrats in the impeachment of President Donald Trump, is among those concerned about to pay for a plan.
“What I understand about the infrastructure bill that's coming, to me, is disappointing,” Kinzinger told CNN on Sunday. “There's a number of republicans that would love to do an infrastructure bill, talk about how to pay for it. We have to have a discussion about that. Using or paying the roads you're driving on. We're willing to do it. I think it's unauthentic and genuine to say we have no republican on this, because there's no attempt to gain republicans. You can try to ram it through yourself, that's totally right. If you want bipartisanship, there's a number of us willing to have a serious engagement on some of these issues.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki wouldn’t divulge details on use Biden’s proposal, nor would she say if Biden would attempt to pass a bill without GOP support.
There is discussion on whether the Senate would try to pass a bill through the budget reconciliation process, which is how the Democrats were able to pass the $1.9 pandemic relief bill without a single GOP vote.
“The President has a plan to fix our infrastructure and a plan to pay for it. But we are also open to having that discussion, and we certainly expect to have the discussion with members of Congress, as we move forward, about areas where they agree, where they disagree, where they would like to see greater emphasis or not,” Psaki said.
