Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday the Biden administration is aiming to get its massive $2 trillion infrastructure plan poised to pass by Memorial Day.
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” Buttigieg said President Joe Biden “really believes in a bipartisan approach.”
“It’s one of the reasons I’m constantly having conversations with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle gathering ideas,” he said. “The president has a clear vision. As he said, this has to get done. He’s asking for Congress to make major progress on this by Memorial Day. The bottom line is we have to deliver for the American people. We can’t let politics slow this down to where it doesn’t actually happen.”
Buttigieg batted back criticism that the infrastructure plan is coming in two parts — the “bricks and mortar” portion, and in a few weeks, a plan addressing a social safety net — because the former can attract bipartisan support and the latter can’t.
The infrastructure plan involves money for roads and bridge repair, Amtrak repairs, public housing improvements, and repairs for lead pipes, airports, public school improvements, and research and development. The administration is also planning to announce a second plan related to the social safety net in the coming weeks.
“I think we can find a lot of support for all the elements of the president’s agenda,” Buttigieg said. “Certainly what we’re seeing with the American jobs plan is overwhelming support from the American people. In many ways it seems like we’ve convinced Americans, now we have to get Washington to follow suit. There’s a lot of support for how the president is proposing to pay for this. That’s part of why this is a compelling package. We know we as a country can make big investments in infrastructure. We need to make sure corporations are paying their fair share. That’s what this plan will do.”
According to Buttigieg, his plan will be paid for in full — and not by deficit spending.
“Across 15 years, it would raise all the revenue needed for these once-in-a-lifetime investments,” he said. “It’s important to point out that the American people agree with us, because we’ve seen corporations paying zero. We’re just asking corporations to pay their fair share…There’s a clear vision to pay for this bill in full.”
“We’re still coasting on infrastructure choices that were made in the 1950s,” Buttigieg added.
“Now’s our chance to make infrastructure choices for the future that are going to serve us well in the 2030s and onto the middle of the century when we will be judged for whether we meet this moment here in the 2020s.”
Source: Newmax
