President Joe Biden has unveiled a $2 trillion infrastructure plan aimed at modernising America's crumbling transport network, creating millions of jobs and delivering a "once-in-a-generation" investment enabling the United States to best China on the global economic stage.
"Today I'm proposing a plan for the nation that rewards work, not just rewards wealth. It builds a fair economy that gives everybody a chance to succeed. It's going to create the strongest, most resilient, innovative economy in the world," Biden said. And Biden's speech fired the starting gun on what is expected to be a bitter battle in Congress, where the Democrats hold only a narrow majority and will face strong opposition from Republicans.
The coming months will test the negotiating skills of Biden, a veteran Washington dealmaker, to the limit, and the chances of his infrastructure plan becoming law remain uncertain.The plan also vows to "spark the electric vehicle revolution" by building a network of 500,000 EV chargers, replacing 50,000 diesel transit vehicles and accelerating the transition to a greener economy that makes infrastructure more resilient to climate change.
But building a political consensus to transform Biden's plan into reality is no easy task. Both his predecessors Barack Obama and Trump made heady promises over infrastructure investment, but struggled to make any progress.Biden's new transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, who ran against Biden in the Democratic presidential primary, will be on the front lines of the battle, trying to ensure that this time, the stars are aligned.
First wars then rebuilding? Same strategy used against Red Indians and Aborigines. Nothing has changed last 400 years.
Let's get a once in a generation healthcare plan