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A3 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 Biden goes big on infrastructure Funded by higher taxes on large businesses By JOSH BOAK and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON — Pres- ident Joe Biden wants $2 tril- lion to reengineer America’s infrastructure and expects the nation’s corporations to pay for it. The president was travel- ing to Pittsburgh on Wednes- day to unveil what would be a hard-hatted transformation of the U.S. economy as grand in scale as the New Deal or Great Society programs that shaped the 20th century. White House offi cials say the spending over eight years would generate millions of new jobs as the country shifts away from fossil fuels and combats the perils of climate change. It is also an eff ort to compete against the technol- ogy and public investments made by China, which has the world’s second-largest economy and is fast gaining on the United States’ domi- nant position. White House press secre- tary Jen Psaki said the plan is “about making an investment in America — not just mod- ernizing our roads or rail- ways or bridges but build- ing an infrastructure of the future.” Biden’s choice of Pitts- burgh for unveiling the plan carried important economic and political resonance. He not only won Pittsburgh and its surrounding county to help secure the presidency, but he launched his cam- paign there in 2019. The city famed for steel mills that powered America’s indus- trial rise has steadily piv- oted toward technology and health care, drawing in col- lege graduates in a sign of how economies can change. The Democratic presi- dent’s infrastructure projects would be fi nanced by higher corporate taxes — a trade-off that could lead to fi erce resis- tance from the business com- munity and thwart attempts to work with Republicans lawmakers. Biden hopes to pass an infrastructure plan by summer, which could mean relying solely on the slim Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate. The White House says the largest chunk of the proposal includes $621 billion for roads, bridges, public transit, electric vehicle charging sta- tions and other transportation infrastructure. The spend- ing would push the coun- try away from internal com- bustion engines that the auto industry views as an increas- ingly antiquated technology. Matt Rourke/AP Photo An Amtrak train departs 30th Street Station in Philadelphia on Wednesday. child care, family tax cred- its and other domestic pro- grams, another expendi- ture of roughly $2 trillion to be paid for by tax hikes on wealthy individuals and families, according to people familiar with the proposal. Funding the fi rst $2 tril- lion for construction and “hard” infrastructure proj- ects would be a hike on corporate taxes that would raise the necessary sum over 15 years and then reduce the defi cit going for- ward, according to a White House outline of the plan. Biden would undo a signa- ture policy achievement of the Trump administration by lifting the corporate tax rate to 28% from the 21% rate set in a 2017 overhaul. To keep companies from shifting profi ts overseas to avoid taxation, a 21% global minimum tax would be imposed. The tax code would also be updated so that companies could not merge with a foreign busi- ness and avoid taxes by moving their headquarters to a tax haven. And among other provisions, it would increase IRS audits of corporations. Democratic lawmakers embraced Biden’s plan on Wednesday. Senate Major- ity Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, said it would create millions of jobs. GOP whip, said. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell dismissed Biden’s package as nothing more than a “Trojan horse” for tax hikes. “This is not going to be apparently an infrastruc- ture package,” said McCo- nnell, who also said Biden called him about the plan on Tuesday. “It’s called infra- structure. But inside the Tro- jan horse there’s going to be more borrowed money and massive tax increases on all the productive parts of our economy.” The business commu- nity favors updating U.S. infrastructure, but it dislikes higher tax rates. U.S. Cham- ber of Commerce Exec- utive Vice President and Chief Policy Offi cer Neil Bradley said in a statement that “we applaud the Biden administration for mak- ing infrastructure a top pri- ority. However, we believe the proposal is dangerously misguided when it comes to how to pay for infrastruc- ture.” The Business Round- table, a group of CEOs, would rather have infra- structure funded with user fees such as tolls. Former President Don- ald Trump, in a statement, blasted his successor’s pro- posal, claiming it “would be among the largest self-in- fl icted economic wounds in history.” ‘THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE APPARENTLY AN INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE. IT’S CALLED INFRASTRUCTURE. BUT INSIDE THE TROJAN HORSE THERE’S GOING TO BE MORE BORROWED MONEY AND MASSIVE TAX INCREASES ON ALL THE PRODUCTIVE PARTS OF OUR ECONOMY.’ Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell An additional $111 bil- lion would go to replace lead water pipes and upgrade sewers. Broadband internet would blanket the country for $100 billion. Separately, $100 billion would upgrade the power grid to deliver clean elec- tricity. Homes would get retrofi tted, schools mod- ernized, workers trained and hospitals renovated under the plan, which also seeks to strengthen U.S. manufacturing. The new construction could keep the economy running hot, coming on the heels of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Economists already esti- mate it could push growth above 6% this year. Separately, Biden will propose in the coming weeks a series of soft infra- structure investments in “I look forward to work- ing with President Biden to pass a big, bold plan that will drive America forward for decades to come,” Schumer said at an event in Buff alo. U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat and chairman of the House Oversight and Transporta- tion Committee, wants to have a highway and transit bill passed out of the com- mittee in May. He called Biden’s plan “visionary and exactly what people across this country have been ask- ing for from national leaders for years, even decades.” But key GOP and busi- ness leaders were already panning the package. “It seems like Presi- dent Biden has an insatia- ble appetite to spend more money and raise people’s taxes,” U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, of Louisiana, the Pittsburgh is a series of steep hills and three inter- secting rivers. Its steel mills once covered the sky in enough soot that men needed to take spare white shirts to work because their button downs would turn to gray by lunch. Only last year the city, amid the coronavirus pan- demic, met Environmental Protection Agency standards for air quality, even though it is increasingly the home of tech and health care workers with college degrees. Infrastructure spending usually holds the promise of juicing economic growth, but by how much remains a subject of political debate. Commutes and shipping times could be shortened, while public health would be improved and construc- tion jobs would bolster con- sumer spending. Standard & Poor’s chief U.S. economist, Beth Ann Bovino, estimated last year that a $2.1 trillion boost in infrastructure spend- ing could add as much as $5.7 trillion in income to the entire economy over a decade. Those kinds of anal- yses have led liberal Dem- ocrats in Congress such as U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, to conclude Tuesday, “The economic consensus is that infrastructure pays for itself over time.” But the Biden adminis- tration is taking a more cau- tious approach than some Democrats might like. After $1.9 trillion in pandemic aid and $4 trillion in relief last year, the administration is trying to avoid raising the debt to levels that would trigger higher interest rates and make it harder to repay. Psaki said Tuesday that Biden believes it’s “the responsible thing to do” to pay for infrastructure through taxes instead of bor- rowing. The White House in its outline of the plan also couched the tax hikes as a matter of fairness, noting that 91 Fortune 500 compa- nies paid $0 in federal cor- porate taxes in 2018. Biden’s eff orts may also be complicated by demands from a handful of Demo- cratic lawmakers who say they cannot support the bill unless it also addresses the $10,000 cap on individuals’ state and local tax deduc- tions put in place under Trump and a Republican-led Congress. With a narrow majority in the House, they could con- ceivably quash any bill that doesn’t signifi cantly lift the cap or repeal it entirely. “I can only vote for a bill that has meaningful tax impact for my constituents if it addresses the SALT cap (state and local tax deduc- tion),” tweeted U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski, a Demo- crat from New Jersey. “We say No SALT, no deal,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, of New York, and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell and U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, of New Jersey, all Demo- crats, in a joint statement. Associated Press writ- ers Kevin Freking and Zeke Miller contributed to this report. 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