The passage of Joe Biden’s $US1.2 trillion ($1.6 trillion) infrastructure plan is a landmark political achievement and legislative triumph, busting through years of congressional deadlock and winning bipartisan support for what will be a significant boost to the US economy, turbocharging growth, jobs and productivity.
It could not come at a more important time for the embattled US President, with his poll numbers tumbling, the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, a resurgent Covid-19, and occasional gaffes and unscripted remarks.
Biden needed this win. He campaigned as a centrist Democrat, pledging to work with Republicans to implement his agenda. He has delivered on this promise, working with congress to see this key bill passed. Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives backed Biden’s infrastructure plan.
This is the Biden many thought they voted for. While his $US1.9 trillion stimulus bill had broad support among voters, including most independents and many Republicans, it won congressional approval in March without a single Republican voting for it. Nevertheless, it too was a significant achievement.
Since then, Biden seemed to be steering the Democratic Party towards its woke radical left wing and becoming unmoored from issues that motivated many Americans to vote for him. The infrastructure plan, with a focus on the economy and employment, is where the Democrats need to be ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Just how detached far-left Democrats have become is evidenced by the fact six members of Biden’s party, including New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, voted against the infrastructure bill. They might have wanted to vote on the Build Back Better Bill first, or in tandem, but that was a poor excuse for voting against a bill that would create jobs, help small business and grow the economy.
Moderate Democrats reassured Congressional Progressive Caucus members they would vote on the Build Back Better Bill – which includes significant spending on social programs and to address climate change – within weeks and after fiscal details were received from the Congressional Budget Office. CPC chairwoman Pramila Jayapal accepted this.
So, a deal was done to advance both bills. But it was not enough for AOC and fellow members of “The Squad”. They refused to support Biden’s signature infrastructure plan. The bill passed only because 13 Republicans in the house voted for it. In other words, Biden needed Republicans to implement his agenda because of these renegade Democrats.
This is the danger that the woke wing of the Democrats poses to Biden’s presidency and the future of the party. This is the politics of the warm inner glow and of protest but it delivers nothing. That Biden won support from Republicans – 19 Senate GOP members voted for the bill in August – only strengthens his position as a centrist and moderate.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes $US550bn in new spending across five years, is about strengthening the arteries of the economy by addressing supply-chain constraints, creating jobs, boosting manufacturing, energising productivity and growth, and improving safety. The funding for new and improved infrastructure is astonishing.
There is $US110bn for new bridges, roads and other projects; $US40bn for repairing and replacing bridges; $US39bn to upgrade rail and bus services and facilities; $US66bn to modernise and expand passenger and freight rail services; $US65bn for high-speed broadband infrastructure; $US17bn for ports and $US25bn for airports; $US65bn to rebuild the electricity grid and expand renewable energy; $US55bn to upgrade water infrastructure and replace lead pipes; and $US15bn for low-emission buses and ferries along with installation of electric vehicle charging stations.
Some of these initiatives constitute the greatest spending in 50 or 70 years, or ever. And it is economic infrastructure. Democrats say the bill will pay for itself with a range of provisions, including underspending in other programs, reallocating funding from programs and even raising money.
Certainly, there are no new taxes or tax increases to pay for it. The CBO, however, found it would add $US256bn to the deficit across 10 years. The boost to the economy, perhaps creating one million new jobs, dwarfs this financial impact.
In his 10 months as President, Biden has often come across as more progressive than moderate. While Biden can point to having campaigned on many of these ideas last year, the blizzard of programs and initiatives has been overwhelming for many voters.
The Democrats’ loss in the Virginia gubernatorial election last week should serve as another wake-up call about drifting too far left. Democrat Terry McAuliffe misjudged the contest and was outflanked by Republican Glenn Youngkin on several issues, including school curriculum.
Biden has now delivered on two key achievements that eluded predecessors Donald Trump and Barack Obama. He withdrew the US from Afghanistan, the longest US war in history, even though the exit strategy was chaotic. And he won bipartisan support for a sweeping infrastructure plan.
Having been a transactional senator and vice-president, Biden wants to be remembered as a transformative president. While comparisons with Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson are as routine as they are exaggerated, they have more validity with the passage of the stimulus and infrastructure plans. Those who wrote Biden’s political obituary have been proven wrong again.
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