Patrick Semansky/Pool via AP
- The first part of President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill is set to be announced this afternoon.
- It will contain substantial investments in transportation, broadband, care workers, and research.
- The bill will cost around $2 trillion, and is set to be offset with tax hikes for corporations.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
President Joe Biden is set to announce his first infrastructure bill this afternoon, with a price tag of around $2 trillion, principally spent out over eight years. The bill will include major investments in everything from broadband to elder care workers - to be paid for with tax hikes on corporations.
Here's what to expect.
Transportation
The first area to see a historic investment would be transportation, according to an administration official. That includes modernizing 20,000 miles of roads and funding for important bridges. Significantly, federal funding for public transit would double.
More climate-friendly forms of transit would also see a boost, with funding for electric-vehicle-charging stations and affordability measures for electric vehicles. Bus fleets would also undergo an electric overhaul.
Broadband and water
The plan would bring universal - and affordable - broadband in the next decade, a need that the virtual work- and school-life required by the pandemic threw into stark relief.
It will also focus on the living conditions of Americans. The bill seeks to ensure that every American has access to clean water, which would be accomplished through the upgrading and replacing of pipes. It would also revamp electric infrastructure in a move towards a carbon-free future.
Housing would see a significant investment, with 2 million residences set to be built or renovated. The bill also allocates money to repairs for schools, federal buildings, childcare facilities, and veteran hospitals.
Care for the elderly and disabled
The plan would invest in one part of the care economy by creating more jobs caring for the elderly and disabled, and boosting pay for those workers. That workforce is disproportionately female, with women of color highly represented, and sees lower wages in general.
Innovation and R&D
The package will include incentives for domestic manufacturing, as well as clean-energy technology and other key supply-chain areas. That would be coupled with investments in the workforce and training.
Corporate tax increase
Biden's proposed corporate tax reform is meant to offset the cost of this package over 15 years, an administration official said. Job creation would be incentivized, and the corporate tax rate would be set to 28%. The administration will also seek to establish a global minimum tax rate of 21% for multinational corporations.
What comes next
It's unclear if this package will have to be passed through party-line reconciliation, as Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus was in early March. Moderate Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin has signaled he would like a bipartisan infrastructure plan, but Republicans have indicated that they won't get onboard with any tax cuts.
This is the first part of a two-pronged infrastructure package. The second part, set to be announced in mid-April, will focus on education, childcare, and healthcare.
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