The US Congress approved a significant infrastructure investment late Friday night (local time). The approval is an important victory for President Joe Biden, who has proposed the $1 trillion package.
The infrastructure plan is one of the pillars of Biden’s plans to strengthen the American economy, something he wants to allocate a total of $3 trillion to. The money from the infrastructure plan is intended for roads, railways, bridges and better internet connections. According to Biden, investments in these will create new jobs and improve the competitiveness of the United States. It is the most significant infrastructure investment ever made in the US.
Biden’s plan not only met opposition from Republicans but also much opposition within his own Democratic party. After days of negotiations, the government managed to get the Democrats in line on Friday evening.
It has now been agreed that 110 billion dollars will go to roads, bridges and other large projects, among other things. Also, $66 billion will go to the national rail network, and $7.5 billion has been set aside for a national network of charging stations for electric cars.
The US House of Representatives eventually approved the investment package by 228 to 206 votes. Thirteen Republicans supported the plans. However, he often emphasised that Biden wanted both sides’ approval for the hundreds of billions of dollars for infrastructure.
That will be more difficult for the other part of Biden’s economic campaign that he calls “Build Back Better.” This new investment package of 1750 billion dollars would significantly expand the American social safety net, including free childcare. A lot of money has also been set aside for the fight against climate change and cheaper care. Republicans shudder at those plans, which in their view, make the government far too influential and, according to some congressmen, are “Marxist”.
Within Biden’s own Democratic party, there was disagreement about this package, forcing the president to downsize it considerably so that all party members are behind it. In fact, Biden also hoped to have steered the more than 1.7 trillion in social investment through the House of Representatives. But at the last minute, some party members demanded that an independent audit office reconsider the White House’s plans.