GOP Counterproposal Aims to Restore the Infrastructure Status Quo

Of the $568 billion in spending proposed by the "Republican Roadmap," $299 billion would go to infrastructure for cars.

2 minute read

April 25, 2021, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


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The GOP has produced a response to the American Jobs Plan proposed by the Biden administration at the end of March. Republicans are proposing a $568 billion plan "that's focused on more traditional infrastructure like roads and bridges and doesn't have the corporate tax hikes that Democrats are seeking," according to an article by Steven T. Dennis and Laura Litvan.

The GOP infrastructure plan would double the amount spent on roads and bridges in the American Jobs Plan—to $299 billion. The messaging for the counterproposal, shared here in a Tweet by Politico reporter Sam Mintz, repeats the Republican resistance to the broader definition of infrastructure implied by the American Jobs Plan.

A Twitter thread by Urban Institute researcher Yonah Freemark details more about the consequences of the GOP infrastructure plan for non-automobile modes of transportation. Spoiler alert: the Biden plan is far friendlier to transit.

Republicans intend to pay for their plan with user fees for electric vehicles and by repurposing "unused federal spending" from the American Rescue Plan, according to a separate article by Alexander Bolton.

The Associated Press has also reported on the Republican infrastructure counter proposal.

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