Biden plans to push through his 3.5 tn infrastructure program

Senate Democrats agreed this week on a $ 3.5 trillion "human infrastructure" plan to expand spending on elderly health care, climate change and family support programs in an attempt to circumvent Republican opposition to massive infrastructure spending plans. The details of the agreement are still a secret, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has determined that it would expand Medicare to cover vision, dental and hearing bills. It is also expected to expand childcare payments, as well as health care subsidies during the pandemic, and help convert the economy from reliance on fossil fuels to alternative energy sources, among other things. "We are very proud of this plan. We know we still have a long way to go ... If we pass it, it will be the most profound change in helping American families for generations," Schumer told reporters. The Democrats hope to pass the spending plan without Republican support. To do that, they need the support of the entire 50-member Democratic Group. To move the measure forward and bypass filibustering by the GOP, they will likely use a budget-voting process that was also used to pass the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus control measure in March. However, there is no guarantee that President Joe Biden and the Democratic leaders can unite all Democrats in the Senate. After all, the chairman of the Senate Budgets Committee, Bernie Sanders, had originally sought a $ 6 trillion package while some others were unwilling to support another $ 6 trillion package. Republicans are already criticizing the plan, believing that rising inflation was caused by the Democrats' spending spree in March. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that this summer "would make our current inflationary mess look like little potatoes". Negotiations are also ongoing for a separate, bipartisan, $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure measure for roads, bridges, water systems and broadband internet. Members of both political parties hope to push the vote on both spending plans before the Senate's August recess. As always, it's about the million dollar question - or in this case the trillion dollar question: How are we going to pay for it? Democrats have not yet commented on this, but Biden has previously advocated increasing taxes on the wealthy and corporations, against strong opposition from Republicans. Biden plans to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, reversing the lower corporate tax rate of 10.5% introduced by the Trump administration. Biden's tax plan proposes reintroducing 12.4% social security tax for incomes over $ 400,000. He also proposes a return of the top tax rate to the Obama-era 39.6%, down from the current 37%. The new spending plan would prohibit tax increases for small businesses and individuals with incomes below $ 400,000. The government estimates tightening tax enforcement and closing tax loopholes for large, non-taxing corporations would raise $ 700 billion over the next decade. While tax hikes don't find support among Republicans, polls suggest a majority of Americans are on board. According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, 80% of Americans find it "a significant nuisance" that some businesses and wealthy people avoid their "fair share" of taxes. Also telling is that only 25% of Democrats surveyed said they "significantly disrupt" the taxes they personally pay, compared with 41% of Republicans.