What Is in the $3.5 Trillion Infrastructure Deal?
Democratic members of the Senate's budget committee announced an agreement on Tuesday to spend $3.5 trillion for Biden's prioritized infrastructure plan, a deal that will fund efforts for climate change and healthcare, among others.
The budget intends to fulfill President Biden's $4 trillion proposal, and while details have yet to be hammered out completely, here is what is expected to be in this trillion-dollar infrastructure deal.
Medicare Expansion
The plan aims to expand Medicare, the federal health insurance program for senior Americans. According to the Associated Press, the expansion would now allow insurance to cover dental, vision, and hearing services.
This goal was a top priority for progressives, including the budget committee chairman, Bernie Sanders, who had originally planned to seek a $6 trillion reconciliation package, but he joined the deal in support of a compromise.
"This is, in our view, a very pivotal moment in American history," Sanders said, according to the Associated Press.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Tuesday night, "We know we have a long road to go. We're going to get this done for the sake of making average Americans' lives a whole lot better."
Increasing Taxes
Biden's plan proposed increasing taxes on large corporations and wealthy Americans.
According to a Democratic aide familiar with the plan and who asked to remain anonymous, in keeping with Biden's prior commitments, the infrastructure deal will not raise taxes on people making less than $400,000 a year, nor will it affect small businesses.
"The wealthy and large corporations are going to start paying their fair share of taxes, so that we can protect the working families of this country," said Sanders.
President Biden also proposed that the measure be financed by the higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations, and the Associated Press detailed increases to the IRS's budget so that it can collect more revenue from scofflaws.
Child Care and Child Tax Credit
As a part of Biden's American Families Plan, the cost of child care would be universally lowered and child tax credit increased, and this recent infrastructure is expected to mirror some of these elements.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the child tax credit plan raised credit from $2,000 to $3,000 per child and made credit fully refundable to all low-income households, no matter their income. The plan would potentially fund child tax credit until 2025.
The American Families Plan guarantees that low- and middle-income families pay no more than seven percent of their income on child care for children under five years old, and according to the administration, this would save an average family $14,800 a year on child-care expenses.
The Journal also stated that universal prekindergarten would be included in these legislations.
Senator Mark Warner told reporters on Tuesday, "I make no illusions of how challenging this is going to be."
The plan also included tax incentives for clean-energy investments, though more details as to specifics of the plan are expected to be released later in the day on Wednesday.
Newsweek reached out to The White House for additional comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
