{"id":2685,"date":"2021-05-07T18:17:50","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T18:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=2685"},"modified":"2021-05-07T18:17:52","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T18:17:52","slug":"infrastructure-is-back-in-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/infrastructure-is-back-in-the-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Infrastructure is Back in the Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It has been a while since we <a href=\"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/a-new-report-highlights-the-urgent-need-for-infrastructure-funding\/\">last talked about infrastructure<\/a>, but it is back in the spotlight in a big way. The Biden administration has proposed a massive $4 trillion investment into infrastructure, covering everything from rural broadband to elderly caregiving. Called the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2021\/03\/31\/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan\">American Jobs Plan<\/a>, by any measure, this is a once-in-a-generation proposal. Some are even comparing it to FDR\u2019s New Deal. Whichever way you look at it, this one is a big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">           [wp_ad_camp_2]         <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Details <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Called the American Jobs Plan, the full $2 trillion is\nbroken out in several different ways. The entire $2 trillion is not spent on\ninfrastructure alone. Here are just a few examples of how this money will be\nspent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>$115 billion: Bridge and highway repairs<\/li><li>$174 billion: Electric charging infrastructure<\/li><li>$20 billion: Cyclist and pedestrian road safety<\/li><li>$17 billion: Inland waterways, coastal ports,\nland ports of entry, and ferries<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Biden administration is also proposing big chunks of\nmoney go to elderly care and buttress state and local economies. It is for this\nreason that Republican opposition has come out strong against the proposal.\nAccording to opposition lawmakers, infrastructure should only be roads and\nbridges and nothing else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Certainly, there are arguments on all sides of this, with\nlawmakers jockeying do add their say. But with the Democrats likely to move\nforward without Republican involvement, expect to see a lot of partisan arguing\nover whether the package is too big, or even too small according to some in the\nprogressive wing of the Democratic Party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what is most important to the trucking and\ntransportations sectors? Roads and bridges. So, what exactly is in the plan\nthat will address what is most important to those in our industries? Let\u2019s take\na closer look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Highways, Roads, and Electric Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Biden administration has proposed $115 billion to\nmodernize over 20,000 miles of highways and roads, 10,000 bridges, and full\nreplacement of the nation\u2019s 10 most \u201ceconomically significant\u201d bridges. Another\n$20 billion from the bill would go towards improving road safety and reducing\ncrashes and fatalities of cyclists and pedestrians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, expect to see money go towards reducing delays and\nbottlenecks at ports and airports, and big improvements to waterways and land\nports of entry. These are crucial aspects of infrastructure that govern our\nnation\u2019s freight needs. It is estimated that this work alone will put thousands\nof people back to work while also improving upon our nation\u2019s infrastructure.\nMany consider this a definite win-win. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On top of the money for roads, highways, and bridges, the\nBiden administration is also proposing another $174 billion to invest in\nelectric vehicle infrastructure. The program would establish grant and\nincentive programs for state and local governments. It would also set up a\nsystem to work with the private sector to build a national network of 500,000\ncharging stations by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even better, trucking advocacy groups, including NATSO,\nwhich represents the truck stop industry, has come out in support of the plan,\nand has long advocated for investment into electric charging infrastructure. Of\ncourse, truck stops are a natural solution for addressing electric charging\nneeds of fleets all over the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to NATSO President and CEO Lisa Mullings, fuel\nretailers are uniquely placed to own and operate EV charging stations. She also\nstated that consumers should have multiple charging options competing for their\nbusiness when it comes to price, speed, quality, and more. Still, there will\nneed to be work done to upgrade the national grid should the U.S. move to\ncreate a national electrification infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Paying for the Plan&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The big question, and one of the main sticking points, is\nhow all this will be paid for. As we know, Republicans are averse to tax\nincreases, but the Democrats feel that a tax increase is really the only viable\nway to pay for it. Essentially, their plan is to increase the corporate tax\nrate to 28% while also reducing tax loopholes that corporations and wealthy\nindividuals use to avoid paying taxes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There has been speculation in the past as to how the Highway\nTrust Fund and infrastructure investments should be paid for. With the country\nmoving toward an electric vehicle future, raising the gas tax simply might not\nbe an effective way to raise the revenue. And with the Biden administration not\nbeing a fan of user fees or a rise in the fuel tax, they instead needed to find\na way to pay for it without such methods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, any time you propose to raise taxes, expect a political fight. Industry advocates and Republicans on all sides have denounced the tax increases, saying that it would amount to the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. It is important to point out that the tax rate proposed is still lower than the rate corporations paid before the Trump administration tax cuts of 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">           [wp_ad_camp_2]        <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The American Trucking Associations (ATA) released a\nstatement saying they did not believe the proposal was \u201cpolitically tenable\u201d and\nnot a long-term solution for funding the Highway Trust Fund. Still, they also\nsaid it was important, so it is likely they are trying to take a measured\napproach, happy that we might see improvements to infrastructure, even if they\ndisagree with the methodology of the approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, this is only the beginning. The bill still needs\nto get through both chambers of Congress, where it is highly likely that\nlawmakers will add their own amendments to it. And with Republicans stating\nthey do not support it; Democrats may end up using arcane Senate rules to get\nit passed. The problem, Republicans say, is that the bill pretends to be\ninfrastructure but is not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s in It?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some prominent Republicans have come out stating the plan is\nin fact a different version of the Green New Deal masquerading as an\ninfrastructure bill. So, the big question is, what is actually in the plan? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s the total breakdown of where the spending will go:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>28% &#8211; Clean Water and Affordable Housing<\/li><li>27% &#8211; Transportation Infrastructure<\/li><li>25% &#8211; Research and Development<\/li><li>17% &#8211; Expanding Care for the Elderly and\nDisabled<\/li><li>13% &#8211; Investments in U.S. Manufacturing<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Certainly, an argument can be made that expanding care for\nthe elderly and investments in manufacturing, research and development are not\ninfrastructure. If that were the litmus test, then around half of the plan\nwould focus solely on infrastructure. But it could be why the Biden\nadministration has called it the American<em> Jobs<\/em> Plan and not the American\n<em>Infrastructure <\/em>Plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Specifically, the plan, through Medicaid, assigns $400\nbillion for care for the elderly and those with disabilities. The funding would\npay for the care of those individuals by visiting staff and would help\nfacilitate the process of moving them out of long-term care homes and back into\ntheir own homes. The plan is to extend access to quality, affordable homes or\ncommunity-based care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The percentage of funds going to research and development\nand manufacturing would be specifically focused on semiconductors and green\ntechnologies. Certainly, there is much in this bill that Republicans would naturally\noppose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What Lawmakers Are Saying<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) claim the\nplan\u2019s proposals for replacing lead water pipes nationwide and refurbishing\naffordable housing units to become more climate-friendly do not constitute\n\u201cinfrastructure.\u201d They claim the plan\u2019s proposal to expand reliable internet\nisn\u2019t applicable, either even though they\u2019ve included similar provisions in\npast infrastructure pushes of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, even some Democratic Senators may request some\nchanges in the plan. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, certainly the most\nconservative member of the Democratic caucus, recently told West Virginia radio\nhost Hoppy Kercheval that Biden\u2019s plan to pay for infrastructure by raising the\ncorporate tax rate to 28 percent is a non-starter and that \u201cthis whole thing\nhere has to change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He did go on to say that he would support a hike to 25%, saying that he never thought it should have been dropped below 25%, but still, shaving those three percentage points off leaves some serious funding gaps that must be patched up somewhere. And since it is highly unlikely that the shortfall can be accounted for by closing loopholes, there will likely need to be some major changes to the plan before it makes its way to the President\u2019s desk to be signed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">           [wp_ad_camp_2]         <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With so much at stake, and so many interested parties adding\ntheir input the destiny of the American Jobs Plan is very much up in the air.\nExpect twists and turns as this massive plan makes its way through Congress.\nBecause whether it passes or fails will have a big impact on trucking and\ntransportation firms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It has been a while since we last talked about infrastructure, but it is back in the spotlight in a big way. The Biden administration has proposed a massive $4 trillion investment into infrastructure, covering everything from rural broadband to elderly caregiving. Called the American Jobs Plan, by any measure, this is a once-in-a-generation proposal. &#8230; <a title=\"Infrastructure is Back in the Spotlight\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/infrastructure-is-back-in-the-spotlight\/\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Infrastructure is Back in the Spotlight<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.4.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Infrastructure is Back in the Spotlight - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/infrastructure-is-back-in-the-spotlight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Infrastructure is Back in the Spotlight - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It has been a while since we last talked about infrastructure, but it is back in the spotlight in a big way. 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