The fight to define infrastructure could change America

The meaning of the word "infrastructure" suddenly depends on your politics.

President Joe Biden is using a sleight of hand by crafting a bill that might be traditionally associated with repairs to potholed highways to instead be his latest effort to reshape the US economy and social safety net. His move encapsulates the White House's own sense of momentum and explains why Republicans are lining up to block his ambitions before they change the character of the country. In one example, the President has stretched the definition of infrastructure to insert $400 billion in the bill to revolutionize home health care for the elderly and disabled. In another he's also seeking billions to supercharge America's development of electric vehicles to fulfill another political priority -- the elimination of fossil fuels in the fight against climate change. And, after a year in which millions of workers relied on home internet connections to work remotely, the plan also includes $100 billion to build a high-speed broadband infrastructure that would reach the whole country.