Infrastructure Plan Update

Big picture: There are currently two bills of relevance here: the American Jobs plan (“hard” infrastructure – roads, bridges, transit etc.) and the American Families Plan (‘soft” or “human” infrastructure – clean energy, child care, health care, etc.). There will be overlap between these two bills – in other words, “hard” infrastructure in the American Families Plan and vice versa. These plans are two facets of the Build Back Better Plan. The third one is the American Rescue Plan, focused on COVID-related relief.

Why it matters: To recap, the Senate-passed American Jobs Plan would provide $550 billion in new spending on roads, bridges, transit, broadband and water projects. The American Families Plan, which is still being written, could add another $3.5 trillion on “human” infrastructure, including subsidies for childcare, education, paid leave, health care, clean energy programs and more. The plan will be considered in the form of a reconciliation package which essentially allows Democrats to pass their economic priorities without Republican support. But they must be unified since they can’t lose a single vote in the Senate or more than three in the House. Right now, the Democrats do not have the votes to get that done.

The bottom line: In a nutshell, the American Jobs Plan is currently in better shape than the American Families Plan but both have to get over some hurdles.

What’s next: The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Sept. 27 on the American Jobs Plan even though progressives are warning they won’t support it if the American Families Plan isn’t completed yet.

We’ll know more by the end of the month.
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