Biden Announces $2 Trillion Infrastructure Spending Plan
2021-04-01
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1American President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a $2 trillion spending plan that is, in his words, "a once-in-a-generation investment in America."
2Biden said it is "the largest American jobs investment since World War II."
3He added it will create millions of jobs, grow the economy and help the country compete against China.
4The plan is the first of Biden's two proposals called the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.
5He promised to release the second plan in a few weeks.
6The Biden administration said in a statement that the American Jobs Plan provides money to improve the country's roads and bridges and to build charging stations for electric vehicles.
7Other projects include housing for the poor, expansion of high-speed internet service, and money for research and manufacturing.
8The administration said the plan would be paid for by raising the U.S. corporate tax rate from 21 to 28 percent, establishing a minimum tax rate on corporate earnings, and ending tax breaks for fossil fuel companies and others.
9The Biden administration said the largest amount of money, $621 billion, would go to transportation projects.
10These include fixing 32,000 kilometers of highways, repairing 10,000 bridges and building 500,000 charging stations.
11The plan is designed to push the nation's automobile industry to build more electric vehicles.
12The plan includes $400 billion to expand home-based care for older people and the disabled.
13One of the largest investments includes $213 billion to help build housing for the poor.
14Another $111 billion will go to new water and sewage system for homes.
15High-speed internet, clean energy for electrical systems and public schools will each receive a $100 billion investment.
16The plan will also invest more than $500 billion to help manufacturing in the country, retrain workers and support research and development.
17Biden announced the plan in an appearance in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the same city in which he launched his presidential campaign.
18The city once famous for its steel factories was central to the rise of American industrial power.
19As steel manufacturing disappeared over time, Pittsburgh re-invented itself as a center of health care, technology and academic research.
20The new spending proposal came just 20 days after Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion spending plan to help Americans affected by the coronavirus health crisis.
21Lawmakers in the president's Democratic Party have expressed support for the plan.
22Republican Party lawmakers have criticized it.
23White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the plan is "about making an investment in America - not just modernizing our roads or railways or bridges but building an infrastructure of the future."
24Mitch McConnell, the leader of Senate Republicans, said he is "not likely" to support the spending proposal.
25He said the plan will result in "more borrowed money, and massive tax increases on all the productive parts of our economy."
26McConnell told reporters that Biden spoke to him about the spending plan in a call on Tuesday.
27The Business Roundtable is an organization of American business leaders.
28It supports what it calls "user pay" models for infrastructure building.
29And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business interest group, called Biden's plan "dangerously misguided" in how it expects to pay for infrastructure improvement.
30At the same time, some members of Biden's own Democratic party think the infrastructure spending plan should be bigger.
31Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called the plan "not nearly enough" in a Twitter post.
32She noted that it calls for spending $2.25 trillion over 10 years as compared to the coronavirus spending plan of $1.9 trillion for this year alone.
33The plan, Ocasio-Cortez added, "Needs to be way bigger."
34I'm Caty Weaver.
1American President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a $2 trillion spending plan that is, in his words, "a once-in-a-generation investment in America." 2Biden said it is "the largest American jobs investment since World War II." He added it will create millions of jobs, grow the economy and help the country compete against China. 3The plan is the first of Biden's two proposals called the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. He promised to release the second plan in a few weeks. 4The Biden administration said in a statement that the American Jobs Plan provides money to improve the country's roads and bridges and to build charging stations for electric vehicles. Other projects include housing for the poor, expansion of high-speed internet service, and money for research and manufacturing. 5The administration said the plan would be paid for by raising the U.S. corporate tax rate from 21 to 28 percent, establishing a minimum tax rate on corporate earnings, and ending tax breaks for fossil fuel companies and others. 6What's in the $2 trillion spending plan? 7The Biden administration said the largest amount of money, $621 billion, would go to transportation projects. These include fixing 32,000 kilometers of highways, repairing 10,000 bridges and building 500,000 charging stations. The plan is designed to push the nation's automobile industry to build more electric vehicles. 8The plan includes $400 billion to expand home-based care for older people and the disabled. One of the largest investments includes $213 billion to help build housing for the poor. Another $111 billion will go to new water and sewage system for homes. High-speed internet, clean energy for electrical systems and public schools will each receive a $100 billion investment. 9The plan will also invest more than $500 billion to help manufacturing in the country, retrain workers and support research and development. 10Biden announced the plan in an appearance in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the same city in which he launched his presidential campaign. 11The city once famous for its steel factories was central to the rise of American industrial power. As steel manufacturing disappeared over time, Pittsburgh re-invented itself as a center of health care, technology and academic research. 12What's next for the plan? 13The new spending proposal came just 20 days after Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion spending plan to help Americans affected by the coronavirus health crisis. Lawmakers in the president's Democratic Party have expressed support for the plan. Republican Party lawmakers have criticized it. 14White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the plan is "about making an investment in America - not just modernizing our roads or railways or bridges but building an infrastructure of the future." 15Mitch McConnell, the leader of Senate Republicans, said he is "not likely" to support the spending proposal. He said the plan will result in "more borrowed money, and massive tax increases on all the productive parts of our economy." 16McConnell told reporters that Biden spoke to him about the spending plan in a call on Tuesday. 17The Business Roundtable is an organization of American business leaders. It supports what it calls "user pay" models for infrastructure building. And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business interest group, called Biden's plan "dangerously misguided" in how it expects to pay for infrastructure improvement. 18At the same time, some members of Biden's own Democratic party think the infrastructure spending plan should be bigger. 19Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called the plan "not nearly enough" in a Twitter post. She noted that it calls for spending $2.25 trillion over 10 years as compared to the coronavirus spending plan of $1.9 trillion for this year alone. 20The plan, Ocasio-Cortez added, "Needs to be way bigger." 21I'm Caty Weaver. 22Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 23______________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25infrastructure - n. basic equipment and structures such as roads and bridges 26fossil fuel - n. fuel such as gas or coal 27academic - adj. relating to schools and education