Biden sets plans for infrastructure law, fighting inflation

From Transport Topics.

President Joe Biden in his first State of the Union address stressed a long-term vision for the $1 trillion infrastructure bill he signed last year, and discussed domestic and international priorities his administration is targeting.

“America used to have the best roads, bridges, and airports on Earth,” the president said March 1 from the U.S. House chamber. “That’s why it was so important to pass the bipartisan infrastructure law — the most sweeping investment to rebuild America in history.”

Biden enacted the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Nov. 15,

“We’re done talking about infrastructure weeks. We’re going to have an infrastructure decade,” the president continued, referring back to earlier annual events that focused on infrastructure needs. Biden noted that the law also is designed to support programs that create 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, as well as modernize drinking water systems.

“It is going to transform America and put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st century that we face with the rest of the world — particularly with China,” he said.

Biden also focused attention on a plan for tackling inflation by lowering costs for working families and the middle class.

His proposal, he explained, partly consists of reducing energy costs by addressing climate change concerns, providing tax credits for weatherizing houses and businesses, and boosting clean energy production.

“I have a better plan to fight inflation. Lower your costs, not your wages,” said Biden, pointing to a supply chain-centric measure that would enhance domestic manufacturing of semiconductors. “My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit. Seventeen Nobel laureates in economics say my plan will ease long-term inflationary pressures.”

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