WHAT’$ IN BIDEN’$ $PENDING $PREE
President Biden on Wednesday unveiled a $2.3 trillion infrastructure and jobs package that he hopes to finance through equally eye-popping tax hikes. Here’s a look at some of what’s in the mammoth proposal:
Q Home care for seniors and the disabled, $400 billion: The single largest item in the bill would expand access to affordable care for seniors and the disabled, both at home and in long-term-care facilities.
Q Electric vehicles, $174 billion: This slice includes rebates and tax incentives for drivers who switch to electric vehicles, plus funds for federal agencies to replace their petroleumfueled fleets.
Q Roads and bridges, $115 billion: This 12-figure sum would go toward traditional infrastructure projects nationwide, including modernizing 20,000 miles of highways and roads, plus repairs for more than 10,000 bridges.
Q Modernizing the water system, $111 billion: The largest portion of this pot is a $56 billion overhaul of what the White House called the nation’s “aging water systems.” Also included is $45 billion to replace lead pipes.
Q Broadband Internet access, $100 billion: This provision would foster nationwide access to broadband-Internet service, including in traditionally deprived rural areas.
Q School construction, $100 billion: This allotment would cover both overhauling old school buildings and building new ones, with an eye toward such improvements as better air quality and ventilation.
Q Public transit, $85 billion:
This sum would both hasten improvements and repairs to existing public-transportation systems, and fund expansions to meet rider demand.
Q Amtrak repairs, $80 billion: Biden, a famous devotee of Amtrak, set aside this pot to address a massive repair backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor, promote safety and provide other improvements.
Q Infrastructure resilience, $50 billion: With part of the proposal earmarked to repair existing damage to infrastructure, this portion would reinforce it against future wear from hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Q Public housing, $40 billion: These funds would address quality-of-life and safety concerns in the nation’s long-neglected public-housing developments.
Q Weatherizing buildings, $27 billion: This package includes block grants and tax credits to enable and incentivize homeowners to upgrade their houses with an eye toward combating
climate change.
Q Airport construction, $25 billion: Among the improvements provided here are terminal renovations and renovations to allow car-free access to airports.
Q Upgrading childcare facilities, $25 billion: Aiming to make life easier for working parents, this pot includes upgrades for child-care facilities and incentives for employers to provide on-site care.
Q “Transformative” and “ambitious” projects,
$25 billion: A fact sheet issued by the White House notes this 11-figure sum set aside for this ill-defined category. The fundsarefor “projects that have tangible benefits ... but are too large or complex for existing funding programs,” the sheet says.
Bike lanes and pedestrian
safety, $20 billion: This allocation would fund state and local “vision zero” plans, as well as other improvements aimed at reducing traffic fatalities, particularly for cyclists and pedestrians.
Connecting disadvantaged
neighborhoods, $20 billion: Among other things, this will “inspire basic research, like advanced pavements that recycle carbon dioxide,” the White House said.
Ports and ferries, $17 billion: This slice of the pie would benefit “inland waterways, coastal ports, land ports of entry and ferries,” with the goal of helping move the nation’s freight, according to the fact sheet.
Capping oil wells and mines, $16 billion: This initiative would seal up thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells, plus abandoned mines that pose safety and environmental hazards.
Community colleges, $12 billion: Community colleges nationwide would see improvements to both their physical and technological infrastructure through this pot.
Civilian Climate Corps, $10 billion: Inspired by New Deal-era work programs, this allotment would form an anti-globalwarming workforce, while providing what the White House called “good-paying union jobs.”
Redeveloping industrial sites, $5 billion: According to the White House, this money would “[r]emediate and redevelop idle real property, and spur the buildout of critical physical, social and civic infrastructure” in economically depressed areas.
Total: $2.3 trillion