Biden Announces American Jobs Plan
Yesterday afternoon President Biden introduced his American Jobs Plan in Pittsburgh. This wide-ranging proposal would invest in transportation infrastructure of all types, affordable housing, public schools, colleges and
Plan Overview:
According to the initial outline released by the administration, the plans seeks to: create millions of good jobs, rebuild our country’s infrastructure, and position the United States to out-compete China. The plan would put significant focus on targeting investment to traditionally underinvested areas, including neighborhoods
The price tag for this initial proposal is estimated at $2 trillion, which represents an investment of approximately 1% of GDP per year for a period of eight years. This would be offset significantly by changes to the tax code, including increases in the taxes that businesses pay.
An important note: the surface transportation funding contained in the bill is not for a reauthorization package but is above and beyond funding through the FAST Act authorization. In a call with stakeholders today, USDOT also indicated these funds would be performance-based and not distributed by formula. So the details on these proposals will be extremely important to understanding who might receive the funds and how they can be used.
Below are the areas of focus of the plan and a brief outline of what the investment in each area would accomplish:
Transportation: $571 billion
Modernize 20,000 miles of highways, roads, and main-streets.
Fix the ten most economically significant bridges in the country in need of reconstruction.
Repair the worst 10,000 smaller bridges.
Replace thousands of buses and rail cars, repair hundreds of stations, renew airports, and expand transit and rail into new communities.
Bridges, highways, roads and main streets: increase of $115 billion. These funds are in addition to and separate from FAST Act surface transportation authorization and likely will not be distributed by formula.
Road Safety: $20 billion, to improve road safety for all users, including increases to existing safety programs and a new Safe Streets for All program to fund state and local “vision zero” plans and other improvements to reduce crashes and fatalities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians.
Transit: $85 billion, to modernize existing transit and help agencies expand their systems to meet rider demand.
Amtrak/Passenger Rail: $80 billion, to address Amtrak’s repair backlog; modernize the high traffic Northeast Corridor; improve existing corridors and connect new city pairs; and enhance grant and loan programs that support passenger and freight rail safety, efficiency, and electrification.
Electric Vehicles: $174 billion, including for manufacturers, consumers, and state and local governments. Incentivizes the build-out of a national charging network and would replace 50,000 diesel transit vehicles and electrify at least 20 percent of our yellow school bus fleet through a new Clean Buses for Kids Program at the Environmental Protection Agency, with support from the Department of Energy.
Airports: $25 billion, including funding for the Airport Improvement Program, upgrades to FAA assets that ensure safe and efficient air travel, and a new program to support terminal renovations and multimodal connections for affordable, convenient, car-free access to air travel.
Inland waterways, coastal ports, land ports of entry, and ferries: $17 billion, including a Healthy Ports program to mitigate the cumulative impacts of air pollution on neighborhoods near ports.
Equity and Access: $20 billion, for a new program that will reconnect neighborhoods cut off by historic investments and ensure new projects increase opportunity, advance racial equity and environmental justice, and promote affordable access.
Large Projects: $25 billion, for a dedicated fund to support ambitious projects that have tangible benefits to the regional or national economy but are too large or complex for existing funding programs.
Resilience: $50 billion
Dedicated investments to improve infrastructure resilience, including investments in FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program and investments in nature-based infrastructure, climate-smart technologies, and water efficiency and recycling.
Water: $111 billion
Replace 100 percent of the nation’s lead pipes and service lines and upgrade and modernize America’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, tackle new contaminants, and support clean water infrastructure across rural America.
Broadband: $100 billion
Build high-speed broadband infrastructure to reach 100 percent coverage and reduce the cost of broadband internet service and promote more widespread adoption.
Electric Grid: $100 billion
Build a more resilient electric transmission system and incentivize investment in clean electricity.
$16 billion for plugging orphan oil and gas wells and cleaning up abandoned mines.
$5 billion for remediation and redevelopment of Brownfield and Superfund sites.
$10 billion for public land conservation, including development of a Civilian Climate Corps.
Invests in Economic Development Agency’s Public Works program (while lifting the cap of $3 million on projects) and in “Main Street” revitalization efforts through HUD and USDA.
Specifically targets investments in the development of new markets and new industries.
Affordable Housing: $213 billion
Produce, preserve, and retrofit more than two million affordable and sustainable homes, including a plan to eliminating state and local exclusionary zoning laws; build and rehabilitate more than 500,000 homes for low- and middle-income homebuyers.
$20 billion in tax credits through the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA).
$40 billion to improve the infrastructure of the public housing system in America.
Upgrade homes through block grant programs, the Weatherization Assistance Program, and by extending and expanding home and commercial efficiency tax credits.
$27 billion Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to mobilize private investment into distributed energy resources; retrofits of residential, commercial and municipal buildings; and clean transportation.
Public schools: $100 billion
Upgrade and build new public schools, through $50 billion in direct grants and an additional $50 billion leveraged through bonds.
Colleges: $12 billion
Community college infrastructure.
Child Care Facilities: $25 billion
Upgrade childcare facilities and increase the supply of childcare in areas that need it most.
Child Care Growth and Innovation Fund for states to build a supply of infant and toddler care in high-need areas.
Expanded tax credit to encourage businesses to build childcare facilities at places of work (employers receive 50 percent of the first $1 million of construction costs per facility).
VA Hospitals: $18 billion
Modernization of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics.
Federal Buildings: $10 billion
Modernization, sustainability, and resilience of federal buildings.
Federal Capital Revolving Fund to support investment in a major purchase, construction or renovation of Federal facilities.
Care Economy: $400 billion
Expanding access to quality, affordable home- or community-based care for aging relatives and people with disabilities by expanding access to long-term care services under Medicaid.
R&D and New Technologies: $180 billion
$50 billion in the National Science Foundation (NSF), creating a technology directorate that will collaborate with and build on existing programs across the government.
$30 billion in additional funding for R&D that spurs innovation and job creation, including in rural areas.
$40 billion in upgrading research infrastructure in laboratories.
$35 billion for climate science innovations, including ARPA-C to develop new methods for reducing emissions and building climate resilience.
$5 billion increase in funding for other climate-focused research.
$15 billion in demonstration projects for climate R&D priorities.
$10 billion R&D investment at HBCUs and other MSI.
$15 billion in creating up to 200 centers of excellence that serve as research incubators at HBCUs and other MSIs.
Manufacturing and Small Businesses: $300 billion
$50 billion to create a new office at the Department of Commerce dedicated to monitoring domestic industrial capacity and funding investments to support production of critical goods.
$50 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research, as called for in the bipartisan CHIPS Act.
$30 billion over 4 years to create U.S. jobs and prevent the severe job losses caused by pandemics through major new investments in medical countermeasures manufacturing; research and development; and related biopreparedness and
biosecurity. $46 billion to jumpstart clean energy manufacturing through federal procurement.
$20 billion in regional innovation hubs and a Community Revitalization Fund, including at least ten regional innovation hubs to leverage private investment to fuel technology development, link urban and rural economies, and create new businesses in regions beyond the current handful of high-growth centers. The Community Revitalization Fund will support innovative, community-led redevelopment projects that can spark new economic activity, provide services and amenities, build community wealth, and close the current gaps in access to the innovation economy for communities of color and rural communities that have suffered from years of disinvestment.
$14 billion for NIST to bring together industry, academia, and government to advance technologies and capabilities critical to future competitiveness.
Quadruple support for the Manufacturing Extensions Partnership.
$52 billion in domestic manufacturers.
$31 billion in programs that give small businesses access to credit, venture capital, and R&D dollars, including funding for community-based small business incubators and innovation hubs to support the growth of entrepreneurship in communities of color and underserved communities
$5 billion for a new Rural Partnership Program to help rural regions, including Tribal Nations, build on their unique assets and realize their vision for inclusive community and economic development and will empower rural regions by supporting locally-led
planning and capacity building efforts, and providing flexible funding to meet critical needs.
Workforce Development: $100 billion
$40 billion investment in a new Dislocated Workers Program and sector-based training.
$12 billion investment for workforce development opportunities in underserved communities.
$5 billion over eight years in support of evidence-based community violence prevention programs.
$48 billion in American workforce development infrastructure and worker protections, including registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships and strengthening the pipeline for more women and people of color to access these opportunities and supporting
community college partnerships that build capacity to deliver job training programs based on in-demand skills. - Worker Protections: $10 billion for enforcement of provisions related to workplace safety and health rules.