Mitch McConnell says Republicans will fight Biden’s $2.25tn infrastructure plan

Mitch McConnell has warned President Biden that Republicans will fight his $2trillion infrastructure package ‘every step of the way’ and said his administration is ‘left-wing’ and going ‘in the wrong direction’.

The Senate Minority Leader told reporters on Thursday that he likes Biden ‘personally’ and admitted they had been friends for a ‘long time’.

But he said the voters didn’t give his White House a ‘mandate’ for their huge investment proposal that will raise taxes for businesses and Americans making more than $400,000.

He spoke to reporters from his home state of Kentucky, two days after Biden phoned him to talk up the plan.

‘I don’t think the American people gave them a mandate to drive our country all the way to the political left,’ McConnell told reporters at his home in Kentucky. ‘I’m going to fight them every step of the way’.

‘I like him (Biden) personally, I mean, we’ve been friends for a long time. He’s a first-rate person. Nevertheless, this is a bold, left-wing administration. I don’t think they have a mandate to do what they’re doing.’

It is a strong indicator that the Republicans will offer no support as the Biden administration tries to get it passed.

McConnell, who has been in the Senate since 1985, served with Biden for decades in the chamber, and used to push through spending projects himself as a ‘cardinal’ on the Appropriations Committee. 

In addition to vowing to fight the plan – with his stocked with projects for roads, bridges, housing, drinking water, and workforce training, funded by tax hikes – McConnell didn’t appear to hold out much hope for a negotiated package.

‘I would love to find some things that we can agree on,’ he said, adding that there are ‘big philosophical differences and that’s going to make it more and more difficult for us to reach bipartisan agreements.’ 

McConnell blasted the plan Wednesday as a ‘Trojan Horse’ for tax hikes. But he also indicated there could be provisions in it that help his state, like funds for the Brett Spence Bridge across the Ohio River. 

‘Could there end up being something in there? It could be,’ he said, WKRC reported. 

McConnell fumed in a fiery speech that former President Trump ‘provoked’ the Capitol riot, but did not vote to impeach him, and the chamber has settled back mostly along familiar partisan divisions at the start of the session. 

White House chief of staff Ron Klain on Thursday also indicated he would welcome Republican support – but indicated Biden would act with or without it. 

‘In the end, let me be clear the president was elected to do a job and part of that job is to get this country ready to win the future,’ he told Politico. ‘That is what he is going to do.’

Biden’s plan contains funds for much more than roads and bridges – and would spend billions to address ‘persistent income inequalities’ in struggling neighborhoods.  

The plan is filled with language setting out a specific goal of steering jobs, grants, apprenticeships, and other benefits to minorities and women. And while Republicans have focused on its price tag and tax cuts to pay for it, they have begun to focus on its workforce development and other programs that they say pads brick and mortar proposals.

 A plan for 15 decarbonized hydrogen demonstration projects – meant to reduce carbon output by industry – would target them for ‘distressed communities,’ relying on a production tax credit to encourage them.

Amid a history of not-in-my-backyard clashes, the plan includes steps for carbon capture facilities ‘ensuring that overburdened communities are protected from increases in cumulative pollution.’

A $48 billion program would go for ‘American workforce development infrastructure and worker protection,’ and is described as through successful pre-apprenticeship programs such as the Women in Apprenticeships in Non-Traditional Occupations.’

‘This will ensure these underserved groups have greater access to new infrastructure jobs,’ according to the plan.

Included amid ‘persistent economic inequalities’ would be $12 billion for workforce development in ‘underserved communities,’ with as well as $5 billion over eight years for ‘evidence-based community violence prevention programs.’

‘President Biden also will call upon Congress to ensure that new jobs created in clean energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure are open and accessible to women and people of color. President Biden is calling on Congress to also specifically target funding to workers facing some of the greatest challenges,’ the plan says.

All of it would move in the large $2.3 trillion package – with Senate Democratic leaders hinting they may seek to move it under new ‘reconciliation’ instructions to protect it from a likely GOP filibuster. The anticipated roadblocks for other legislation has induced Biden and his team to push a raft of proposals into the single plan.   

Data have shown that minorities have been hard hit by the coronavirus and its economic effects. Minorities and women were also a key part of Biden’s winning electoral coalition. 

The plan was developed ‘with equity in mind,’ it says.  

‘Too often, past transportation investments divided communities – like the Claiborne Expressway in New Orleans or I-81 in Syracuse – or it left out the people most in need of affordable transportation options,’ it says. The Claiborne Expressway cuts through the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. A project touted by the Mayor of Syracuse proposes to remove 1.4 miles of elevated roadway that sliced through part of a mostly black neighborhood in the 1950s and 60s.

‘The President’s plan includes $20 billion for a new program that will reconnect neighborhoods cut off by historic investments and ensure new projects increase opportunity, advance racial equity and environmental justice, and promote affordable access,’ it says.

Funds to mitigate floods and disasters are also couched in language of safeguarding infrastructure and defending ‘vulnerable communities.’   

‘People of color and low-income people are more likely to live in areas most vulnerable to flooding and other climate change-related weather events,’ it states. 

A section of the package on prevailing wages and union jobs notes states that: ‘This is especially important for workers of color and for women, who have endured discrimination and systematic exclusion from economic opportunities for generations.’

‘All of us deserve to enjoy America’s promise in full — and our nation’s leaders have a responsibility to overcome racial, gender, and other inequalities to make it happen. To that end, the President is calling on Congress to create new, good-quality union jobs for American workers by leveraging their grit and ingenuity to address the climate crisis and build a sustainable infrastructure,’ it stsates.

Biden ‘Biden is calling on Congress to update the social contract that provides workers with a fair shot to get ahead, overcome racial and other inequalities that have been barriers for too many Americans, expand the middle class, and strengthen communities,’ according to the plan. 

The plan, which the White House released Wednesday as the Derek Chauvin trial for the death of George Floyd was getting underway, includes a proposed $10 billion to enforce its workforce proposals, while calling for increased penalties for employers who break safety and health rules.  

‘President Biden is calling on Congress to provide the federal government with the tools it needs to ensure employers are providing workers with good jobs – including jobs with fair and equal pay, safe and healthy workplaces, and workplaces free from racial, gender, and other forms of discrimination and harassment,’ it states.

Most Republican critics of the plan have focused on its tax hikes, while singling out its push for green infrastructure.  

House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy retweeted a column by Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberly Strassel saying roads and bridges accounted for ‘a mere $115 billion of President Biden’s infrastructure proposal. The rest includes climate subsidies and social welfare.’

Also blasting the plan was Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio – a center-right lawmaker from a rust belt state who is among lawmakers retiring in 2022.

‘At its core, the president’s plan calls for a $620 billion investment in transportation infrastructure. However, the total soars to $3 trillion with its inclusion of these broad policy priorities that are a far cry away from what we’ve ever defined as infrastructure,’ said Portman.

‘The Biden Administration’s plan redefines infrastructure to include hundreds of billions of dollars of spending on priorities like health care, workforce development, and research and development.’

He called it the ‘wrong approach.’

‘The largest tax hike in American history in order to pay for the kind of Green New Deal spending outlined by President Biden today should be a nonstarter in Congress,’ said Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), the chair of the House Republican Conference.

To pay for the plan, Biden is calling for tax hikes like an increase in the corporate rate, although even after a period of 15 years they would not pay for all of the plan, leaving about $1 trillion not paid for. 

Meanwhile, some progressive Democrats are already attacking the plan for not being big enough – and fretting that health care and other ‘social infrastructure’ components might die if they all get included in a second package that might be less politically popular.

‘This is not nearly enough,’ said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY.). ‘The important context here is that it’s $2.25T spread out over 10 years. For context, the COVID package was $1.9T for this year *alone,* with some provision lasting 2 years.’ 

Look away, Donald Trump! S&P 500 rallies past 4,000 for the first time EVER thanks to 1.2% surge powered by tech stocks – one day after Biden rolled out $2TN infrastructure plan

Wall Street kicked April off with a milestone Thursday, as a tech company rally helped drive the S&P 500 past the 4,000 mark for the first time.

The benchmark index finished 1.2 per cent higher a day after closing out the first three months of the year with its fourth straight quarterly gain.

Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and Google’s parent company were among the winners, along with smaller companies, which stand to benefit from a quickly growing economy. Health care, household goods stocks and utilities were the only laggards.

Technology stocks benefited from another drop in bond yields, which have been the driving force for the market for several weeks.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.69 per cent from 1.73 per cent the day before. Higher bond yields make stocks seem more expensive by comparison, and tech stocks are among the most expensive after their significant rise last year. Microsoft rose 2.8%, Facebook gained 1.4%, Amazon.com added 2.2% and Google parent Alphabet closed 3.3% higher.

‘What a great way to start the second quarter,’ said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade. ‘There’s money out there looking to be put to work, and with the quarter ending it looks like people are finding new ways in a new quarter to find opportunities.’

The S&P 500 rose 46.98 to 4,019.87. The index’s latest all-time high is its second in seven days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 171.66 points, or 0.5%, to 33,153.21. The technology-heavy Nasdaq climbed 233.23 points, or 1.8%, to 13,480.11.

Smaller companies continued to notch solid gains. The Russell 2000 index picked up 33.38 points, or 1.5%, to 2,253.90.

The rally capped a holiday-shortened week for the stock market. U.S. stock exchanges will be closed in observance of Good Friday, though bond trading will be open for half a day, closing at noon Eastern.

Companies that would benefit from greater sales of electric vehicles also rose Thursday, a day after President Joe Biden outlined various measures to support their use as part of his massive infrastructure plan. Part of that plan includes installation of thousands of additional charging stations around the country. Electric vehicle charger operator ChargePoint gained 11.8%.

Investors continue to monitor news about how well the U.S. economy is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, now that millions of vaccines are being administered daily to Americans as well as around the world.

Consumer sentiment has been improving along with construction spending and other measures. The improving economy is prompting investors to shift more money into companies and sectors that will benefit from people getting back to some semblance of a pre-pandemic normal.

The market has been churning while dealing with that shift as beaten-down sectors like airlines and industrial companies start to recover.

‘In a way, the churn has reflected health, because more sectors are participating in the moves,’ said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird.

While investors are optimistic that things will recover soon, there’s still a lot of economic pain to go around.

Airlines have been making gains this year as more people bet on a budding recovery for travel, but the industry still faces turbulence ahead. Discount carrier Frontier Airlines underwhelmed on its first day of public trading. The Denver-based airline opened at $18.61, below the low end of a $19 to $21 price target, and closed at $18.85.

The Labor Department said the number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits last week rose to 719,000 last week from 658,000 the previous week. That figure was expected to decline. The government will release its monthly jobs report on Friday.