{"id":130416,"date":"2021-10-05T20:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T03:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=130416"},"modified":"2021-10-05T20:35:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T03:35:00","slug":"president-biden-on-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-and-build-back-better-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=130416","title":{"rendered":"President Biden on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Build Back Better Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Howell, MI&#8230;Hello, Michigan! (Applause.) It\u2019s good to be back. It really is. And, John, thank you for that introduction.  The truth of the matter is there\u2019s a reason why the American labor movement across the board has the single-best workers in the world: because you\u2019re the best trained.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/r1zPYjze3IU\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I wish the American people understood how much serious, serious training goes into being a union worker. I really mean it. You\u2019re the best in the world.<\/p>\n<p>I was kidding \u2014 someone said to me earlier that \u2014 I said I\u2019m a union President; I\u2019m a union \u2014 a President who supports unions \u2014 not labor, unions. And someone pointed out to me that I allegedly have the \u2014 used the word \u201cunion\u201d as President more than the last seven presidents combined. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>You built the country. No, not a joke. You built the country.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s great to be here with several excellent members of Congress. Elissa Slotkin \u2014 Elissa, you \u2014 you don\u2019t want to screw around with her. (Laughter.) She\u2019s an intelligence officer as well, so she\u2019s forgotten more than most of you know. But thanks for riding out with me, and thanks for the advice you\u2019ve given me \u2014 and I mean that sincerely \u2014 and how we\u2019re going to make sure that everything we do here is paid for \u2014 paid for, and not a single penny raised in taxes of anybody making under 400 grand.<\/p>\n<p>And, Debbie, you\u2019re the best in the world. You and John have been so \u2014 friends of mine \u2014 you\u2019ve been for so, so long. You\u2019ve stepped in and taken over in a way that I think is \u2014 had to be both emotionally difficult, but you\u2019ve done an incredible job. And I consider you one of my great friends. Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>And, Dan, I \u2014 you\u2019re okay, Dan. (Laughter.) You ain\u2019t \u2014 you ain\u2019t quite like the woman sitting next to you. But all kidding aside \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 Dan, you\u2019ve done a great \u2014 I mean, I really mean it: You\u2019re always there for everything that\u2019s important to your constituents. And you understand what I\u2019m going to talk about little bit later: The way we built this country is from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down. And you get it.<\/p>\n<p>And, Andy, as my dad would say, you\u2019ve got good blood, kid. (Laughter.) And thank you for what you\u2019re doing. Thank you for stepping in. And thank you for the great job you do.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan, I also have \u2014 it\u2019s also fortunate to have an outstanding United States senators, who are doing what they\u2019re supposed to do. They\u2019re in Washington because the Senate is in. Debbie and Gary are in Washington now and \u2014 to cast some really important votes to keep things moving.<\/p>\n<p>And, of course, it\u2019s great to be here with my friend \u2014 we\u2019ve become friends \u2014 an outstanding governor, one of the best governors in the United States of America, and her lieutenant governor, who covers in every way \u2014 both in terms of physically and mentally \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 and every other way. And thank you for all you did to help me get elected. I really mean it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Look, I know there\u2019s a lot of noise in Washington; there always is. But it seems to me, a little more than usual now \u2014 a whole lot of hyperbole, a lot of heat. And I\u2019m here today to try to set some things straight, if I can.<\/p>\n<p>I want to talk about what\u2019s fundamentally at stake for our country now, at this moment.<\/p>\n<p>I know it\u2019s an overused phrase, but I\u2019ve been using it a lot: We\u2019re at an inflection point. Every \u2014 anywhere from 40 to 80 years in America, there\u2019s an inflection point where we have to choose what direction we\u2019re going to go, what we\u2019re going to do. Not \u2014 not Democrat\/Republican, but what are we going to \u2014 who are we going to be?<\/p>\n<p>For a long time, America set the pace across the entire globe. For the better part of the 20th century, we led the world by a significant margin in investments in ourselves, in our people, in our country.<\/p>\n<p>We invested in our infrastructure \u2014 in our roads, highways, bridges, ports, airports \u2014 in the arteries of the nation that allow commerce to function smoothly and swiftly and allow us to generate significant income.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve invested in our people, in opportunity. We\u2019re among the first to provide access, for example, to free education. It\u2019s the reason why, in the 20th century, we began to take off.<\/p>\n<p>It was back in the late 1890s we decided, among the first countries, that we were going to be the first nation that every single American, regardless of their background \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t, at the time, regardless of their background, but based on income \u2014 would have free 12 years of education.<\/p>\n<p>We invested to win the space race. We led the world in research and development that led to the creation of the Internet.<\/p>\n<p>And, you know, but then something happened. We slowed up. We stopped investing in ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>America is still the largest economy in the world. We still have the most productive workers and the most innovative minds in the world. But we risk losing our edge as a nation.<\/p>\n<p>Our infrastructure used to be the best in the world \u2014 literally, not figuratively. Today, according to the World Economic Forum, we rank 13th. Our infrastructure \u2014 12 nations have a better infrastructure than we do, which means they can move product, they can do so many things better than we can do it.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re among the first in the world to guarantee access to universal education. Now, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development ranks America 35th out of 37 major countries when it comes to investing in early childhood education as a percent of GDP.<\/p>\n<p>Think of that. Think of that. Of all the industrial nations in the world, the instinct Americans would say if you asked them 25 years \u2014 they would say, \u201cWe\u2019re number one.\u201d We are not. There\u2019s only two industrial nations that are lower than us.<\/p>\n<p>All those investments that fuel the strong economy, we\u2019ve \u2014 we\u2019ve taken our foot off the gas. We\u2019ve taken \u2014 we just \u2014 I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happened. The world has taken notice, by the way, including our adversaries. And now they\u2019re closing the gap in a big way.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s essential that we regain our momentum that we\u2019ve lost. And work our \u2014 you know, the work of our time, it seems to me \u2014 those of us who hold public office \u2014 is to prepare ourselves to be more competitive and to win the fast-changing 21st century and \u2014 the global economy.<\/p>\n<p>Things are changing incredibly quickly. That\u2019s why I proposed two critical pieces of legislation being debated back in Washington right now. The first, a bill to invest in our physical infrastructure. And the second is a bill to invest in our human infrastructure. I\u2019ll talk about both of these bills in just a moment.<\/p>\n<p>But first I want to set one thing straight: These bills are not about left versus right or moderate versus progressive or anything that pits Americans against one another. These bills are about competitiveness versus complacency. They\u2019re about opportunity versus decay. They\u2019re about leading the world or continuing to let the world pass us by, which is literally happening.<\/p>\n<p>To support these investments is to create a rising America, America that\u2019s moving. And to oppose these investments is to be complicit in America\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n<p>To support these bills is to pursue a broader vision of our nation. And to oppose them is to accept a very cramped view of our future.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t about two pieces of legislation; it\u2019s about the inflection point I mentioned earlier we are in our history \u2014 the world history.<\/p>\n<p>So here\u2019s what I\u2019m proposing. First, the infrastructure bill: It\u2019s about rebuilding our roads, our highways, our bridges, our ports, our airports, our broadband \u2014 all the things that need repair. Our arteries of our economy have always been fueled by the economic might and dynamism of Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Across the country right now, 45,000 bridges and 173,000 miles of roads, according to the engineers \u2014 Society of Engineers \u2014 are in poor condition right now, including more than 1,200 bridges, as the Governor has been fighting to repair here in your state; 73 \u2014 7,300 miles of roads here in Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll bet everyone in this room can tell me what the most dangerous intersection in this town or any town they live in \u2014 and where it is \u2014 that you hold your breath when you\u2019re driving over or trying to cross the street. Not a joke.<\/p>\n<p>Working with the Governor and members of the Congress here, we\u2019re going to put hardworking Americans, like the operating engineers here in Howell, on the job to bring back our infrastructure and bring it up to speed. Good union jobs, not 12, 15, 18 doll- \u2014 prevailing wage jobs. (Applause.) Wage that gives you dignity, that you can raise a family on, that you can hold your head up.<\/p>\n<p>This is a blue-collar blueprint for how we restore America\u2019s pride. And the jobs can\u2019t \u2014 these are jobs that can\u2019t be outsourced.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to put plumbers and pipefitters to work replacing lead pipes in America so families and children can drink clean water. Forty \u2014 400,000 schools. I mean, this \u2014 it\u2019s not just our homes; it\u2019s across the country.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to put line workers and electricians to work laying thousands of miles of transmission lines and to build a modern infrastructure and energy grid.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to make high-speed Internet affordable and available to \u2014 everywhere in America. We were talking about it on the way over with Elissa, that how short the number of \u2014 number who don\u2019t have access to the Internet here because of the lack of investment.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to make the largest investment in public transit in American history. And we\u2019re going to make the most important investment in our rail system since the creation of Amtrak 50 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Now, let me tell you, our competitors aren\u2019t hanging around and waiting to see what we\u2019re going to do. They\u2019ve been pouring billions of dollars into infrastructure and into training their people for years now.<\/p>\n<p>Take China, for example. Now, I\u2019ve been clear that China<br \/>\nuses unfair and coercive practices to get ahead of their competitors. But that\u2019s not the whole of the story. They also invest in themselves.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, China has spent around three times as much<br \/>\non infrastructure as a share of their economy than we have. Three times. And they\u2019re not slowing down.<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, my U.S. Trade Representative delivered an important speech on our competition with China. She pointed out that China made a major investment in steel plants beginning about 20 years ago. And in the last 20 years, half of America\u2019s steel companies have been shuttered.<\/p>\n<p>We went from 100 U.S. steel companies to 51. And employment in the American steel industry dropped by 40 percent since the year 2000.<\/p>\n<p>China now produces more steel in one month than America does in an entire year. You can see it in the sector after sector: Other countries are speeding up and America is falling behind.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve got to reset the pace again. We\u2019ve got to set a different pace. For example, here in Michigan, we need to make sure that American autoworkers lead the world in electric vehicles. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And some of you came to the White House when I had the chairmen of the board of General Motors, Chrysler, and GM \u2014 I mean, General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford. You know \u2014 and what have they decided to do? They decided they\u2019re going to lead the world and they\u2019re going to build more of the electric vehicles than any other country.<\/p>\n<p>But guess what? China is not waiting around. They\u2019ve manufactured more than twice as many electric vehicles as we have over the last decade. They control more than 75 percent of the battery market. And they\u2019re poised to invest another $14 billion in charging capacity now in their country.<\/p>\n<p>Back in May, I had the chance to tour Ford\u2019s new state-of-the-art facility in Dearborn, where union workers are building the first-ever all-electric Ford F-150. I got to drive that sucker. (Laughter.) It\u2019s quick: zero to sixty in 4.1 seconds. And it\u2019s a big boy. It\u2019s a big one.<\/p>\n<p>Months later, I hosted the three \u2014 the Big Three automakers at the White House, where the Ford 150 was joined by the GMC Hummer and the Jeep Wagoneer [Wrangler] \u2014 all going electric, all in partnership with the UAW.<\/p>\n<p>The whole world knows that the future of the auto industry is electric. We need to make sure America builds that future instead of falling behind.<\/p>\n<p>We should build those vehicles, and the batteries to get them, here in the United States of America. That\u2019s what we should build here in the state of Michigan. I want those jobs \u2014 (applause) \u2014 no, I really mean it. (Applause.) I want those jobs here in Michigan, not halfway around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what my plan will do. The infrastructure bill will put in motion the union workers on the job installing a national network of hundreds of thousands of charging stations along our roads and highways and communities \u2014 over 500,000 of them.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, parenthetically, when you build a charging station, it\u2019s like back in the day when my grandpop worked for the American Oil Company back in the turn of the \u2014 in the 19 \u2014 1920s, in that area. They went from state to state convincing people that they put \u2014 allowed them to put 20,000 gallons of gasoline under the ground. They didn\u2019t want them around. But guess what happened? Everything builds up around them.<\/p>\n<p>You put these charging stations along the highway, and you\u2019re going to see a significant economic development go well beyond the charging station.<\/p>\n<p>And the Build Back Better plan will boost our manufacturing capacity, investing in new and retooled facilities that employ American workers with good wages and benefits.<\/p>\n<p>That includes grants to kickstart new battery and parts productions, that \u2014 purchasing incentives for families to buy clean, union-made vehicles, like the ones championed by Debbie and Dan in the Senate and the House. And loans and tax credits to boost clean-vehicle manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>Look, these are the kinds of investments that get America in the game and give our workers a chance.<\/p>\n<p>My plan also makes historic investments in clean energy, including tax credits to help people do things like weatherize their homes, install solar panels, develop clean energy products, to help businesses produce more clean energy.<\/p>\n<p>All told, this project will save literally hundreds of millions of barrels of oil on a yearly basis. Not a joke.<\/p>\n<p>These credits \u2014 those credits could cut the cost of installing a rooftop solar by about 30 percent, helping families cut their utility bills and helping the country cut its emissions.<\/p>\n<p>My infrastructure bill will put Americans to work on long-overdue national environmental cleanups.<\/p>\n<p>I want a job corps just like Roosevelt had a jobs corps \u2014 but an environmental job corps of over 160,000 \u2014 excuse me \u2014 1.6 million people. That means good jobs at prevailing wages capping hundreds of thousands of abandoned oil wells. You know, we have thousands and thousands of abandoned oil wells and gas wells and methane \u2014 with methane leaks. Well, guess what? The miners and the people who dug those wells, they\u2019ll get paid the same amount of money to cap them now. It\u2019s going to help us meet the moment of the climate crisis and do away with \u2014 you know, it\u2019s going to create good jobs and make more economi- \u2014 make us more economically competitive.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, here in Michigan, you all know the cost of extreme weather. All you remember the flooding this summer that shut down parts of I-96 \u2014 the power outages and the tornado warnings. They\u2019re costing your state billions of dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, last year \u2014 last year, because of extreme weather, cost America $99 billion. Ninety-nine billion taxpayers\u2019 dollars.<\/p>\n<p>I went all over the country. I went out West to the fires. You know, more has burned down in the Northwest than the entire state of New Jersey. That\u2019s how much we\u2019ve lost. You see what\u2019s happened with the droughts that are out there. You see reservoirs that are down 30, 40, 50 feet. Who\u2019s worried about the cooling down \u2014 you\u2019re worried about whether you\u2019re going to have \u2014 what the Colorado River is going to do.<\/p>\n<p>This is a big deal. This is gigantic. And we\u2019re not going to ease up. We\u2019re not going to ease up on any of this.<\/p>\n<p>We have to invest in resilience. Resilience. You saw Texas? Their entire power grid went down because they had no resilience \u2014 the ability to build back and build things stronger.<\/p>\n<p>Why a lot of those fires in the far west? And \u2014 because guess what? It\u2019s a hell of a lot safer to have those wires underground not be knocked down by high winds and tornadoes and the like, causing fires.<\/p>\n<p>Look, I haven\u2019t pressed \u2014 I haven\u2019t a passed a \u2014 we haven\u2019t passed a major infrastructure bill for decades in this country. It used to be a normal thing to do. It used to be a bipartisan thing to do.<\/p>\n<p>If we get this done, we\u2019re going to breathe new life into our economy and our workers, and we\u2019re going to breathe cleaner air. Economists left, right, and center agree.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, Wall Street \u2014 not some liberal think tank \u2014 Wall Street and a Wall Street outfit called Moody\u2019s projected that the investments in these bills could help our economy create an additional 2 million jobs per year, every year. Two million per year. That\u2019s going to be transformative.<\/p>\n<p>And here\u2019s the deal: The jobs in my plan are for people who too often felt left behind and were left behind \u2014 left out.<\/p>\n<p>Ninety percent of the jobs in this bill \u2014 these bills \u2014 in my infrastructure plan don\u2019t require a four-year college degree.<\/p>\n<p>We need to get this done. But it isn\u2019t enough just to invest in our physical infrastructure. We\u2019re going to lead the world like we used to. If we\u2019re going to do that, we have to also invest in our people, like you do right here in training \u2014 in this training facility.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s what my second bill, the Build Back Better plan, that\u2019s what it does.<\/p>\n<p>Take education, for example. When America said everyone is entitled to 12 years of free public education \u2014 universal \u2014 a century ago, it gave us the best-educated, best-prepared workforce in the world. That was one of the reasons why America began to grow so rapidly. It\u2019s a big part of why we led the world the bulk of the 20th century.<\/p>\n<p>But guess what? If we were going to put together a committee today, like they did in 1898 \u2014 I think it was \u2014 and we were going to invent a public education system, is there any chance we\u2019d say that we thought 12 years is enough in the 21st century? Just 12 years? I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n<p>Study after study shows that the earlier our children begin to learn in school \u2014 not daycare \u2014 the better for themselves, for their families, no matter what the background they come from \u2014 no matter what their background.<\/p>\n<p>Recent university studies point out that they\u2019re increased by 56 percent the chance for them to get all the way through 12 years of school without getting in trouble. It\u2019s a gigantic deal. It doesn\u2019t matter whether their mom or dad know how to read or write, or the home is a home that is challenging.<\/p>\n<p>But right now, we\u2019re lagging behind while other countries are investing in their children. Today, only about half of three- and four-year-olds in America are enrolled in early childhood education.<\/p>\n<p>In Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Latvia, the number \u2014 that number is more than 90 percent. Ninety percent of their three- and four-year-olds.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re falling further and further behind the curve. It\u2019s not just early education.<\/p>\n<p>According to one study, we rank 33 out of 44 advanced economies when it comes to the percentage of our young people who have attained a post-high school degree \u2014 anything after high school. We\u2019re at the bottom of the heap.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll bet if I \u2014 if that was on a quiz \u2014 you were on one of these quiz shows that ask you that, you would have said maybe we\u2019re two or three or four. It\u2019s ridiculous.<\/p>\n<p>My Build Back Blett- \u2014 Build Back Better plan gets us back on track. We\u2019ll make four additional years of public education available to every person in America. Two years of high-quality preschool at the front end and investments in community colleges so our students can gain the skills they need to carve out a place for themselves in the 21st century economy.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019ll also increase Pell Grants. They\u2019re grants for kids making \u2014 families making less than 50 grand, helping their \u2014 helping their folks \u2014 helping them get through community college or a historically Black colleges in order to be able to get a shot so they can live; they can eat while they\u2019re going to school.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ll invest in our historically Black college and universities, which are an essential asset to help, to support, and to make sure that young people of every background and circumstance have a shot at good-paying jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Look, this bill also invests in our workforce by providing so much-needed breathing room for working families. After all, how can we compete in the world if millions of American parent \u2014 parents, especially moms, can\u2019t join the week \u2014 the workforce because they can\u2019t afford the cost of childcare or eldercare; they have to stay home.<\/p>\n<p>For example, here in Michigan, the average two-parent family spends $10,400 on childcare costs for just one child each year. Thirty years ago, the United States ranked sixth \u2014 sixth among advanced economies in the share of women in the workforce. You know where we are today? Twenty-three. Twenty-two countries have a higher percentage of their women in the workforce making a competitive wage than the United States.<\/p>\n<p>While our competitors are investing in the care economy, we\u2019re standing still. And the fact is, millions of American parents are feeling the squeeze, having a hard time doing their job, earning a paycheck while taking care of their children or aging parents \u2014 and at the same time \u2014 in the sandwich generation.<\/p>\n<p>My Build Back Better plan is going to change that. It\u2019s going to cut the cost of childcare for most Michigan families by more than half. It\u2019s going to extend the historic middle-class tax cut to the Child Care Tax Credit, which we passed in my American Rescue Plan.<\/p>\n<p>Now, most people don\u2019t know \u2014 if you walk to the average informed person \u2014 doctor, lawyer, whatever \u2014 and said, \u201cChild Care Tax Credit,\u201d they\u2019re not sure what that means. But what it means is, you know, if you were making a decent salary and you had two kids or three kids or four under the age of 18, you get to deduct $2,000 for each child off your bottom line of your taxes you owe. Well, guess what? If you\u2019re making 15 bucks an hour, you don\u2019t have any taxes to pay like that. So guess what you got? Nothing. Zero. Zero. No help.<\/p>\n<p>My friends on the other team have no problem giving billionaires and millionaires gigantic tax breaks. This is a tax cut. You know, what it does is now \u2014 and it\u2019s in place, and people in your state are understanding it now \u2014 instead of it provides \u2014 it upped the ante how much you could get for a child under seven: You get 3,600 bucks tax cut on a yearly basis, and you get $3,000 for a child under 17.<\/p>\n<p>But guess what we did? That means we\u2019re doing it on a monthly basis now. It means you\u2019re getting either $300 a month or $200 a month, just like your Social Security check \u2014 at home.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s cut child poverty in \u2014 by 40 percent. That money is already a life-changer for so many working families. And as I said \u2014 it\u2019s actually \u2014 I was wrong: In Michigan, it\u2019s 44 percent cut in child poverty.<\/p>\n<p>We need to keep it going. My plan is going to put Americans to work constructing and rehabilitating safe and affordable housing to help ease the cost of housing while generating even more jobs. In most of the major metropolitan areas of America, they\u2019re \u2014 you can\u2019t afford the housing.<\/p>\n<p>And it helps to meet the moment on climate change as well. We\u2019re setting the course for America to achieve 50 to 52 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 for us to reach ne- \u2014 to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.<\/p>\n<p>This bill helps us get there in a way that creates good jobs, makes us global leaders of fast-growing clean energy industries, like electric vehicles, solar and wind power, battery power.<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line is this: When we give working families a break, we\u2019re not just raising their quality of life; we\u2019re putting parents in a position to earn a paycheck. We\u2019re also positioning our country to compete in the world. That\u2019s what these bills are all about.<\/p>\n<p>If you want proof, just come to this training facility. This is where hardworking folks come to learn how to operate road graders and so much more; where workers use virtual reality to master operating a crane and to learn how to deal with drones to look underneath bridges and so on; where young people in Michigan show up and emerge as expert technicians, engineers, heavy equipment operators.<\/p>\n<p>They leave here with a shot at something great: a union job with good wages and benefits that allow them to maintain their dignity and their pride. It\u2019s a ticket to the middle class.<\/p>\n<p>This is where the economy starts: with you \u2014 your skills, your dreams, and your limitless potential. The only thing we\u2019ve been missing is the will from Washington to finally build an economy around you \u2014 an economy that gives you and your family a fighting chance to get ahead, gives our country a fighting chance to compete with the rest of the world. We can\u2019t get here thinking small. We have to think big.<\/p>\n<p>Let me be clear: We need to prepare for 10 years down the line. That\u2019s what these bills do. Both these bills spend out over 10 years, not in the first year.<\/p>\n<p>So if you take the infrastructure bill, folks, it\u2019s described as a $1.2 trillion bill. What that means is that of all those investments in roads, bridges, high-speed Internet, water, everything else, all of it would be less than one half of 1 percent of our economy each year. And it\u2019s all paid for, and they don\u2019t increase the debt because they\u2019re paid for by asking the very wealthy to begin their par- \u2014 pay their fair share.<\/p>\n<p>As a matter of fact, a significant portion of this plan cuts taxes for working people.<\/p>\n<p>And best of all, the cost of these bills, in terms of adding to the deficit, is zero. Zero. Zero. And I made a commitment when I wrote these when I was running: No one making under $400,000 a year will see a penny in their taxes go up. That\u2019s why, in the infrastructure bill, there is no gas tax increase, because people making under 400 would have to pay more.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s simple. If you\u2019re working here at this facility or your spouse is a teacher or a firefighter, there\u2019s no reason why \u2014 combined \u2014 why millionaires and billionaires in this country should be paying at a lower tax rate than you do. Hear me again now: a lower tax rate.<\/p>\n<p>A police officer or teacher, a union crane operator, and a nurse \u2014 they paid a higher tax rate \u2014 a higher tax rate than a significant portion of the major corporations in America and the super wealthy.<\/p>\n<p>Look, it isn\u2019t right \u2014 isn\u2019t right that 55 of the largest corporations in America, in this country \u2014 and I come from the corporate capital of the world. More people \u2014 more corporations are incorporated in the state of Delaware than all \u2014 every other state combined. But you know how much those 55 companies \u2014 I can go on; more than that \u2014 they made over $40 billion and they paid zero \u2014 zero in federal income tax.<\/p>\n<p>Since the pandemic began, the number of billionaires \u2014 and I forget the exact number there are in America \u2014 have seen their wealth go up collectively by $1 trillion. $1 trillion.<\/p>\n<p>It isn\u2019t fair. It needs to change. Look, working folks understand that.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why, despite the attacks \u2014 the attacks and misinformation, my plan has overwhelming support of the polling data from the American people. They understand what\u2019s at stake.<\/p>\n<p>They understand that workers and families have a better shot and Americans have a better shot.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m a capitalist. I think you should be able to go out and make a million dollars, or a billion. But just pay your fair share. Join the crowd, man.<\/p>\n<p>They know that this is about dignity and respect. It\u2019s about changing the paradigm so the economy works for you, not just for those at the very top.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s about building this economy from the bottom up and the middle out. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve done my entire career. That\u2019s why I ran for president.<\/p>\n<p>As I said, I\u2019m a capitalist. I think you should be able to<br \/>\nmake a lot of money in America. But just pay your fair share. Pay your fair share.<\/p>\n<p>I took this agenda to the country. They said it was time to build an economy that looks out from Scranton, Pennsylvania \u2014 where I grew up as a kid \u2014 instead of looking down from Wall Street. An economy that looks out from Howell, Michigan, and towns like it all over America, that brings people from every race, background, religion into the game.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what \u2014 and notwithstanding some of the signs that I saw com- \u2014 that\u2019s why 81 million Americans voted for me. The largest number of votes in American history. (Applause.) A clear majority who supported when they supported me.<\/p>\n<p>Look, it\u2019s now time to deliver.<\/p>\n<p>Let me close with this: The world is watching. Not a joke. The autocrats of the world believe the world is moving so rapidly that democracies can\u2019t generate consensus quickly enough to bring their people together to get things done.<\/p>\n<p>They think democracies \u2014 not \u2014 not a joke \u2014 in my meetings with Putin, in my meetings with Xi Jinping and other leaders, they truly believe that we can\u2019t compete in the 21st century because things are moving so fast \u2014 democracies take so much time that they are so divided that they can\u2019t get together in time to act.<\/p>\n<p>They believe \u2014 they believe they\u2019ll win \u2014 they\u2019ll win the day and they can dictate their way forward and leave us behind. They\u2019re betting \u2014 not a joke \u2014 they\u2019re betting, for the first time, we won\u2019t respond to this inflection point in history, that we\u2019ll fail to rise to the occasion.<\/p>\n<p>But you\u2019ve heard me say it a lot of times: It\u2019s never, ever been a good bet to ge- \u2014 to bet against the American people. Never.<\/p>\n<p>Look, just look back a little ways. After World War Two, the United States did what we\u2019re trying to do now: invested in the American people to lead the world.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, presidents and congresses of both parties and Americans of all political views stepped up. I\u2019m not being sentimental here. There was racial discrimination; it was a fact of life. We know how deep-rooted racism is in this country. We saw the Klan marching right here in Howell generations ago and again in recent years. It\u2019s a never-ending battle.<\/p>\n<p>But think about what also unfolded in this critical \u2014 in these critical decades. Great protest movements summoned the nation to most prom- \u2014 promise of equity.<\/p>\n<p>The GI Bill sent millions of veterans to college. The federal government helped make home ownership possible because it\u2019s the vehicle by which people can generate wealth. Most of us who come from lower- or middle-class backgrounds, that\u2019s how our parents were able to generate any wealth. The investments in our home for those who could previously only dream of having a house to call their own.<\/p>\n<p>We invested in the Interstate Highway System, propelling our economy into the future.<\/p>\n<p>We invested in the space race, which led to huge strides in technology.<\/p>\n<p>We invested in something called DARPA, a program within the federal government that helped create the Internet.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, we need to step up again. But the challenge of today is one of economic competition. Let\u2019s learn from that history, not because it was perfect, because Americans then did what they must do now: invest in ourselves to show the world that American democracy works and that, given half a chance, there\u2019s nothing \u2014 not a single thing we can\u2019t achieve when we do it together. I know we can do this. I\u2019m positive we can. I\u2019ve never been more optimistic about this country than I am right now. We\u2019re going to restore faith, pride, and dignity in the future of this country.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re going to pass both \u2014 both of these bills and start building this economy to beat the competition and deliver for working families.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you. May God bless you. And may God protect our troops. Let\u2019s get this done. Thank you. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Q  President Biden, what are you willing to cut to get to $2 trillion?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q  President Biden, what are you willing to cut from the package to get to $2 trillion?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: I want to make sure that we have a package that everyone can agree on. It\u2019s not going to be $3.5 trillion. It\u2019s going to be less than that. I don\u2019t know what the answer to that is. And we\u2019re going to get it done.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q  President Biden, are you going to call Mitch McConnell today?<\/p>\n<p>Q  Do you think Senator Manchin will support a bill larger than $2.2 trillion, sir?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Well, you heard him on television today. It sure sounds like he\u2019s moving, and I hope that\u2019s the case. Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>4:12 P.M. EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Howell, MI&#8230;Hello, Michigan! (Applause.) It\u2019s good to be back. It really is. And, John, thank you for that introduction. The truth of the matter is there\u2019s a reason why the American labor movement across the board has the single-best workers in the world: because you\u2019re the best trained. I wish the American people understood how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":130417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Fullscreen-capture-1052021-82324-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=130416"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130418,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130416\/revisions\/130418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/130417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=130416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=130416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=130416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}