Underselling the Infrastructure in Infrastructure Plan
President Joe Biden has taken an arguably expansive view of infrastructure to justify some of the proposed spending in the $2.7 trillion American Jobs Plan. But some Republicans have gone too far with claims about how little in the bill qualifies as infrastructure.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday” on April 11, for example, Republican Sen. John Thune claimed “only about 6% of the president’s proposal actually goes to what … everyday Americans would describe as infrastructure.” GOP Rep. Liz Cheney used the same figure in her appearance that day on “Face the Nation.”
There are, of course, reasonable disagreements, which includes large investments in such things as manufacturing, research and development, and long-term health care services for the elderly.
