US Republicans’ infrastructure offer a fraction of Biden’s plan

Senate Republicans propose a narrower and lower-cost alternative to the $2.3 trillion Joe Biden hopes to spend.

A group of Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled a public works proposal with a much smaller price tag and a narrower definition of infrastructure than what President Joe Biden has proposed, highlighting the stark differences between the two sides that will be difficult to bridge in coming months. The price of the Republican proposal came in at $568bn over five years, compared with the $2.3 trillion that Biden has called for spending over eight years. To help pay for their plan, the Republicans would rely on user fees, including for electric vehicles, and on redirecting unspent federal dollars. The outline does not offer specifics, such as which federal programmes would lose unspent dollars to infrastructure. Biden has proposed raising the corporate income tax from 21 percent to 28 percent to help pay for his plan, a move the Republican senators have rejected.