Reuters
Published Feb 11, 2021 10:31AM ET
Updated Feb 11, 2021 03:35PM ET
By Alexandra Alper and David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden promised U.S. senators from both major parties on Thursday to work together to modernize aging U.S. infrastructure, after his predecessor Donald Trump failed to win approval for a major funding effort.
Biden plans to ask Congress this month to invest heavily in infrastructure amid studies showing close to half of U.S. roads are in poor or mediocre condition and more than a third of U.S. bridges need repair, replacement or significant rehabilitation.
"We're going to see what we can put together," Biden said at an hour-long White House meeting that included Vice President Kamala Harris and key senators. "There's a lot we have to do.... We just have to step up."
The focus on infrastructure signals Biden, a Democrat, will seek to prioritize some policy areas that appeal to both parties, after his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package winds its way through Congress in coming days without significant Republican support.
"There are not many Republican or Democratic roads and bridges," Biden said ahead of the meeting. "I really, honest to God, never have thought of ... infrastructure as being a partisan issue," he added.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki declined to say on Thursday how much Biden was seeking in infrastructure spending.
As a candidate, Biden in July 2020 unveiled a plan to spend $2 trillion over four years investing in clean-energy infrastructure. He wants to boost electric vehicles and high-speed rail.
Oval Office attendees included: Democrat Tom Carper, the Environment and Public Works Committee chairman; Shelley Moore Capito, the panel's top Republican; Ben Cardin and Jim Inhofe, the top Democrat and Republican on the committee's transportation and infrastructure subcommittee.
"The American people desperately want us to bring our roads, trains and bridges out of the last century and into the future," Carper said in a statement.
Calling the discussion positive and substantive, Capito said in a statement: "We should be forward-leaning when it comes to tackling the transportation needs of today and tomorrow in a way that works for all communities, instead of a one-size-fits all approach."
In her home state of West Virginia she said she wanted additional highway capacity, bridge improvements, innovative transportation technologies and expanded broadband.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who took part virtually, told Reuters last week the U.S. government must rebuild the transportation sector for post-pandemic times.
A Republican, Trump in 2018 unveiled an infrastructure plan that proposed spending $200 billion over 10 years to spur $1.5 trillion in largely private sector infrastructure spending but Congress never voted on it.
Last year, Trump's White House drafted a $1 trillion infrastructure spending plan but the administration never publicly released it.
Funding for infrastructure projects has been a point of contention in recent years after Congress abandoned a decades-old policy of using fuel tax revenue to largely pay for infrastructure repairs. In 2019, Trump and Democratic congressional leaders agreed to spend $2 trillion over a decade, but he never proposed a new revenue source to pay for the upgrades and never made it a priority.
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is in charge of the U.S. aviation system, highways, vehicles, pipelines and transit.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.