LOOKING FOR A QUICK FIX
White House rushes with infrastructure changes for economy
BALTIMORE — The Biden administration is relying on infrastructure dollars to help fix the clogged ports and blanket the nation with internet access — but a series of initiatives rolled out on Tuesday show that the urgent pace might not be fast enough to address the immediate needs of an economy coping with a supply chain squeeze and a shift to remote work.
President Joe Biden spoke with the CEOs of Wal-Mart, Target, UPS and FedEx on Tuesday about how to relieve the supply chain challenges as ships are still waiting to dock at some of the country’s leading ports. The key problem is that these ports are experiencing record volumes of shipping containers as the economy has recovered from the pandemic.
Biden received updates from the CEOs on how deliveries are being sped up to ensure that store shelves will be well-stocked this holiday season, according to a White House official. Bloomberg News first reported Biden’s conversations with the corporate leaders.
Yet the concrete policy steps being discussed by the administration show that there is no quick fix to supply chain issues that are still hurting smaller businesses and causing consumers to face higher prices. Nor can the administration build out a national broadband network fast enough as more Americans are pivoting toward remote work.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo highlighted at the White House briefing the $65 billion for broadband access in the the $1 trillion infrastructure package that cleared the House on Friday. She said that jobs would be created and poorer Americans would receive “affordable” internet service, though she did not spell out a precise dollar amount on what the monthly bills could be.
The plan involves careful logistics that would take time to implement. Each state
would receive at least $100 million to help lay fiberoptic cables and ensure its citizens can access the internet. This process would occur as jobseekers are increasingly requesting remote work where they can work from home on their computers.
“The president wants us to get it right,” Raimondo said. “And if it takes a little longer to lay the groundwork for fiber and broadband, then we’re going to do that.”
Similarly, the administration announced plans on Tuesday to identify and pay for possible upgrades to U.S. ports within the next 90 days — hoping to ultimately tamp down the inflation being caused by ships waiting to dock and a shortage of truck drivers to haul goods.
As the U.S. emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, the economic recovery has been hampered by congested and aging ports. The mix of inflation and the potential for empty store shelves during holiday shopping has created a sense of frustration for many Americans and hurt President Joe Biden and Democrats politically.
Senior administration officials said Tuesday that the Transportation Department would allow port authorities to redirect any leftover money from grant projects to address the supply chain issues. For example, the Georgia Ports Authority will use $8 million to convert its inland facilities for the port of Savannah into container yards, freeing up dock space and speeding the flow of goods to their final destinations.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the forthcoming plans, which come on the heels of the House backing the bipartisan infrastructure package late Friday. The package includes $17 billion to improve coastal and land-based ports that can help to tackle the challenges in the longer term.
Biden’s team is moving straight ahead in promoting the possible benefits from the broader infrastructure package, though they’ve largely shied away from claiming that Americans could see clear and demonstrable changes to their lives before the 2022 midterm elections. The focus, instead, has been on how the spending on roads, bridges and broadband will help the U.S. economy compete against the rest of the world.