Success for President Biden: US Congress approves infrastructure program

After months of struggle, the US Congress has decided on a major infrastructure investment program. With President Biden’s core project, the country’s infrastructure is to be modernized. He must continue to fear for his social package.

After months of struggle, the US Congress has decided on one of President Joe Biden’s core domestic policies. A few weeks after the Senate, late in the evening (local time), the House of Representatives finally passed a major investment program aimed at modernizing the country’s infrastructure.

Around 550 billion US dollars (476 billion euros) of new investments in infrastructure are planned over the next few years. In total – including previously budgeted funds – the package is worth more than a trillion dollars.

Also includes climate protection financing

Violent dispute among Biden’s Democrats over a second investment package had long delayed the infrastructure plans. The billions in infrastructure are to be used in the coming years for roads, bridges, ports, airports, local transport and rail. Climate protection, which Biden has made a top priority, should also benefit from some of the projects.

In the coming years, around 110 billion dollars will flow into the expansion or renovation of roads and bridges. Around 39 billion dollars are budgeted for local public transport, and another 66 billion dollars for the rail network. Funds are also earmarked for expanding the charging stations for electric cars and for promoting electric buses. A total of 42 billion dollars is calculated for ports and airports.

The package is also intended to finance the expansion of high-speed Internet connections and the improvement of the water supply, including the replacement of all lead pipes. Around 65 billion dollars are also to flow into the modernization of the electricity infrastructure.

The left wing of the party had long blocked the law

When he took office, Biden had presented plans for billion dollar investments in both the country’s infrastructure and social security systems. The infrastructure package had already passed the Senate in August after long negotiations. But the final vote in the House of Representatives was still missing. This was delayed enormously, as Democrats from the left wing of the party used the vote as leverage in the internal negotiations on the second, even larger package of investments in social and climate protection, which met with some resistance within the Democratic Party.

In view of the very narrow majority of the Democrats in both chambers of Congress, Biden is dependent on unity in his own ranks in order to implement his plans. This was a problem for months. The second trillion package provides for an expansion of social benefits in the country and large sums for the fight against the climate crisis – financed by tax increases for corporations and top earners as well as the more consistent collection of due duties.

Biden has to continue to worry about the social package

Moderate Democrats, however, had raised concerns about the high spending and called for the package to be cut. Left-wing democrats, who wanted to push through the largest possible investments in social and climate change, threatened to block the infrastructure package unless the larger second package was secured at the same time.

The stalemate between the party wings dragged on for months. At the end of October, Biden finally presented the proposal for a slimmed-down social and climate package – with a volume of 1.75 instead of the initially targeted 3.5 trillion US dollars. This brought new movement into the internal party disputes. However, Biden has to continue to fear for his package for social affairs and the climate.