Rebuilding America's Infrastructure

President Biden is pushing Congress to pass a $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill that aims to revive and modernize the U.S. economy after the COVID-19 pandemic and help the country reckon with racial inequities and climate change. He wants to pay for his expansive proposal by raising taxes on corporations and clamping down on companies that stash assets abroad to minimize or avoid U.S. taxes. Republicans oppose the tax increases, the size of Biden's spending plan and the fact that much of it addresses problems outside of the traditional parameters of infrastructure: roads, bridges, mass transit and water and sewer systems. Several Republican lawmakers have proposed a smaller package emphasizing conventional infrastructure spending. Regardless of how the current debate evolves, the country will continue to face infrastructure challenges due to the growing use of electric vehicles, increasingly severe weather caused by climate change, shaky funding mechanisms and deteriorating physical assets.