House Democrats propose $1.5-trillion infrastructure bill

House Democrats yesterday presented a bill that calls for $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure investment made urgent by the pandemic.

Richard Cowan had the news for Reuters:

U.S. House of Representatives Democrats on Thursday unveiled a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that they will seek to pass in coming weeks, arguing it has been made more urgent by the coronavirus pandemic.

The legislation would spur construction or improvements f roads, bridges, ports, clean energy, schools and other projects that experts say have long been neglected. It comes at a time when the United States is in desperate need of new jobs amid an economic downturn sparked by the coronavirus.

Matt Perez from Forbes wrote:

The bill dedicates $300 billion to build and fix roads and bridges and would invest $100 billion in transit options, though it also doesn’t detail how the programs will be paid for.

A major aspect of the bill is investing “in programs, projects and materials that emphasize resiliency while reducing carbon pollution from the transportation sector,” which could serve as a major roadblock to moving forward with Republicans in Congress.

Rebecca Beitsch from The Hill noted:

Democrats described the bill as the biggest legislative effort to fight climate change, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) saying the package would “make real the promise of building infrastructure in a green and resilient way.”

“It’s job-creating in its essence, but it’s also commerce-promoting. So it grows the economy of our country,” she said.

The legislation is the latest attempt to advance an infrastructure package that has been discussed since the early days of the Trump administration but continuously fails to gain traction.