Republicans counter Biden’s $2.25 trillion with proposal one-fourth as big

In case one was wondering where Republicans are on infrastructure, here’s the math: one-fourth of where President Joe Biden is. 

A group of Senate Republicans lead by Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., unveiled a $568 billion infrastructure proposal as a counteroffer to President Biden’s $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan. 

The Republican plan takes a very narrow definition of infrastructure—meaning roads, bridges, public transit systems, rail, wastewater infrastructure, airports and broadband. President Biden’s plan is more far reaching and expensive.

Senate Republicans are pushing user fees for electric vehicles and finding unused federal spending allocated by the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that Congress passed in March to cover the cost of the plan.

 “This is something that Congress has done for many, many years together on a bipartisan basis,” Capito said. “Our focus is to say what our concepts are as Republicans [about] what infrastructure means, what our principles are in terms of pay-fors and to say to President Biden and his team and our Democrat colleagues: 'We're ready to sit down and get to work on this,' “

Some middle-of-the-road Democrats such as Sen. Chris Coons, a close Biden ally from Delaware, have embraced the idea of passing a bipartisan down payment on Biden’s infrastructure agenda. Other Democrats have championed Biden’s plan to “go big” right out of the gate.

Reaction to the Republican plan was mixed. A bipartisan group, Building America’s Future, responded to the Republican plan. The bipartisan and national infrastructure coalition, with co-chairs former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, issued the following:

“We applaud the good faith effort by Senator Capito and her colleagues to put forth a serious proposal that focuses on such traditional infrastructure as roads, bridges, transit, rail, wastewater and drinking water, broadband, ports and inland waterways. It is good to see that both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge that significant investment in America’s infrastructure is urgently needed.

“Now more than ever, it is important that Republicans and Democrats seek common ground and work together to craft an infrastructure package to jump start our economy, create good paying jobs and enhance the quality of life for all of our citizens,” the statement from Rendell and LaHood said.

All of this is in response to President Joe Biden’s “American Jobs Plan” that would spend at least $2.25 trillion on a wide variety of infrastructure needs, physical and virtual.

Biden is trying to take advantage of a small window in Washington in which Democrats control the White House and both houses of Congress as his administration shifts to bolstering the post-pandemic economy.

But Biden has said he is open to compromise as well as all ideas on how to pay for it.

The President’s idea is an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%—where it nominally was before the massive $1.8 trillion tax cut enacted in the previous administration. But already there are indications that Biden might be receptive to something lower than 28%.

The administration also wants to boost the global minimum tax for multinational corporations from 13% and ensure they pay at least 21% in taxes in any country.  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared to rule out instituting a miles-traveled tax or a rise in the federal tax on fuels—currently 18.4 cents on gasoline, 24.4 cents on diesel, unchanged since 1993.

The White House contends the tax hikes, combined with measures designed to stop offshoring of profits, would fund the infrastructure plan within 15 years.