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White House Releases Infrastructure Proposal, “The American Jobs Plan”

On March 31, 2021, Associated Equipment Distributors’ (AED) President & CEO Brian P. McGuire issued the following statement following the White House releasing its framework for an infrastructure package (the American Jobs Plan):

“AED commends President Biden for proposing a bold plan to rebuild the nation’s physical infrastructure, including investments in roads, bridges, highways, broadband, ports, water systems and other projects. America’s critical infrastructure is deficient and deteriorating after many years of underfunding. The time is long overdue for the federal government to provide the investments needed to restore the nation’s infrastructure to the envy of the world. There is no better way to put the United States on the path to long-term economic growth and job creation than investments in transportation, water, telecommunications and energy infrastructure.”

“The legislative process in Congress must proceed expeditiously and in a bipartisan manner. AED looks forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to enact much-needed infrastructure investments and to identify responsible ways to pay for the proposal without sacrificing America’s productivity and international competitiveness.”

Key components of the American Jobs Plan include:

• $621 billion for transportation, including roads, bridges, transit, ports and airports as well as electrifying vehicles.

• $111 billion to upgrade drinking and wastewater infrastructure.

• $100 billion for high-speed broadband infrastructure.

• $100 billion to upgrade the U.S. power infrastructure.

• $213 billion to “produce, preserve, and retrofit affordable and sustainable places to live.”

• $137 billion for physical upgrades to public schools, community colleges, child-care facilities, VA hospitals and federal buildings.

• $300 billion to invest in U.S. manufacturing and strengthen critical supply chains.

• $100 billion for workforce development and jobs training programs.

• $400 billion for “expanding access to quality, affordable home- or community-based care for aging relatives and people with disabilities.”

The administration is proposing to pay-for the American Jobs Plan through a variety of tax changes targeted to corporations, including increasing the corporate rate to 28 percent, creating a 15 percent minimum tax on the income corporations use to report their profits to investors (book income), eliminating tax preferences for the fossil fuel industry, greater tax liability on U.S. multinational corporations and more robust IRS tax enforcement.

Of course, this is merely the Biden-Harris administration’s infrastructure plan. Ultimately, it will be up to lawmakers in Congress to draft legislation and settle on funding mechanisms. Stay tuned to AED for further information as the process moves forward.

For additional information, contact AED’s Vice President of Government Affairs, Daniel Fisher, at dfisher@aednet.org.