Blog: A High-Level Overview of President Biden’s American Jobs Plan
What is the American Jobs Plan?
The American Jobs Plan (AJP) is the second part of President Biden’s Build Back Better initiative. Divided into three parts that include a COVID-19 package, the American Jobs Plan, and the American Families Plan, it seeks to close the gap on economic insecurity at several levels.
Introduced in March 2020, the American Jobs Plan focuses on enhancing and repairing our nation’s outdated infrastructure system that includes provisions to upgrade transportation infrastructure, broadband infrastructure, resilient infrastructure, and affordable housing. It also lays the groundwork for investments to modernize clean drinking water supplies, improve on renewable energy, and job development.
Why it matters:
The comprehensive package is in line with the Biden administration’s priorities to restore public lands and waters, and investing in communities that for too long have been experiencing the disproportionate impacts of our rapidly changing climate.
A bold and ambitious plan, the solutions included in the plan would rebuild our economy in a responsible and restorative way.
What’s happening now?
Updates were made to the infrastructure framework to balance the interests of Republican and Democratic leaders. This was done to build on bipartisan support in hopes of moving the legislation through Congress. Dubbed the bipartisan infrastructure framework, revisions were added that updated funding. This deal was presented in June. On July 21, Senate Republicans blocked this deal and it did not pass party lines.
On Thursday, July 22, President Biden endorsed a deal with a bipartisan group of Senators that included further adjustments to the bipartisan infrastructure framework that had been presented in June. The deal does not include the full funding called for in the American Jobs Plan but still retains key components from the bipartisan infrastructure plan, such as upgrading transportation infrastructure, broadband infrastructure, resilience infrastructure, and water infrastructure.
However, President Biden has stated that this plan will only move forward if it comes with an additional package that funds programming proposed in the Build Back Better plan to improve on human infrastructure programs such as Medicare, affordable child care, and addressing climate change via our nation’s energy system. Referred to as the $3.5 trillion infrastructure agreement, Democrats are seeking to push this package through Congress despite Republican opposition.
What’s Next?
The new and updated American Jobs Plan needs to be approved by Congress before being signed into law. Despite its bipartisan backing, it’s not clear whether it will be supported by the 60 senators needed to overcome a filibuster. As it stands, lawmakers have not yet released the legislation’s language. The debate process for the bill could happen as early as the week of July 26.
The Latest Update:
A vote is said to be taking place the weekend of July 30, 2021, to formally start the debate process on President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure package.
Here’s what we know about the updated bipartisan backed plan:
Transportation infrastructure: $66 billion for rail projects, $49 billion for public transit, and $7.5 billion budget for charging stations for electric vehicles.
Water infrastructure: $55 billion for water infrastructure, $201 billion for water, sewer, power, and environmental remediation projects, $21 billion for environmental projects, $73 billion for power grid improvements
Resilience infrastructure: $47 billion on resilience projects to weatherproof, upgrade coastal infrastructure and support against severe weather impacts