U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled a 2-trillion-U.S.-dollar infrastructure investment plan, touting it as a "once-in-a-generation" investment in the country, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
"What I am proposing is a one time capital investment of roughly 2 trillion dollars in America's future, spread largely over eight years," Biden said in a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he kicked off his presidential campaign in 2019.
"It will generate historic job growth, historic economic growth, help businesses to compete internationally, create more revenue as well," Biden said, noting that among the highest-value investments is investment in the nation's "crumbling" infrastructure.
The proposal, dubbed the American Jobs Plan, includes 621 billion dollars to improve transportation infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and airports, 300 billion dollars to revitalize U.S. manufacturers and small businesses, and 213 billion dollars for housing infrastructure.
The plan also invests, among others, 180 billion dollars to boost the country's research and development, and 100 billion dollars to modernize schools and early learning facilities.
To offset the massive cost, the president also proposed to increase corporate income tax rate to 28 percent, up from the current 21 percent, attempting to partially reverse the tax cut policy from former President Donald Trump's administration.
"It is a serious proposal that would help increase economic growth, ensure growth was more fair, and raise additional revenue in a broadly reasonable manner," Jason Furman, former chairman of the Council on Economic Advisers and a senior fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics, said on Twitter.
Biden's proposal is widely welcomed by Democrats, including Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, progressive Democrat Elizabeth Warren, and Senate Banking Committee chairman Sherrod Brown. Republicans, however, lashed out at the plan.
"The administration's non-infrastructure 'infrastructure bill' looks like another Trojan horse for far-left demands," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a tweet.
"Rolling back Right to Work laws. Imposing the biggest new tax hikes in a generation -- killing jobs and slowing wage growth when workers need a fast recovery," McConnell continued.
Right-to-work laws, adopted in over half of the U.S. states, ensure that Americans can work without having to join unions or pay union dues. Biden said his proposal includes a provision to ensure that workers have a free and fair choice to organize, join a union, and bargain collectively with their employers.