By Steven Allen Adams, The Inter-Mountain
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — While the White House works to keep Republicans and progressive Democrats on board, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin remains optimistic about a traditional infrastructure package he helped negotiate last week while preparing to hold the line on spending on human infrastructure.
Speaking by phone Wednesday, Manchin, D-W.Va., said last week’s infrastructure proposal is the largest such plan since the creation of the interstate system more than 70 years ago and the largest investment in U.S. history. President Joe Biden hit the road Tuesday to promote the plan, making a stop in Wisconsin.
“You have a bipartisan agreement with the President of the United States endorsing it and going around the country selling it and how much good it does,” Manchin said. “The public knows that we have just come to an agreement on the largest infrastructure package in our nation’s history.”
The new plan focuses on traditional infrastructure, with $973 billion in spending over five years or $1.209 trillion in spending over eight years, with $579 billion in new spending. The plan is paid for without tax increases, focused on collecting unpaid taxes, using unspent COVID-19 funds from the federal C.A.R.E.S. Act and American Rescue Plan, various user fees, and the economic benefits from the projects themselves…
To read more: https://www.theintermountain.com/news/local-news/2021/07/manchin-says-infrastructure-plan-can-work/