In March 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its annual report on infrastructure in the United States. The report gave the US an overall grade of C-, noting:[1]
- There is a break in a water main every two minutes, and six billion gallons of treated water are lost daily.
- 45% of our roadways are in poor or mediocre condition.
- Only ¾ of our nation’s levees have been adequately surveyed, suggesting potential damage from flooding.
The categories studied by the ASCE include: aviation, bridges, broadband, dams, drinking water, energy, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, public parks, ports, rail, roads, schools, solid waste, stormwater, transit, and wastewater. By virtue of their training and experience, civil engineers are experts in evaluating the safety and efficacy of such areas. Occupations prominent in building and repairing infrastructure include engineering, architecture, transportation, construction, and extraction. According to Georgetown University, “90% of infrastructure jobs are held by men.”[2]
Since the release of this report, the Biden administration has been pushing its “Infrastructure” Bill, a $2+ trillion package which includes the following:[3]
- Transportation ($621 billion) – Fund repairs on roads, bridges, public transit, rail, ports, waterways, and airports. However, $174 billion would fund electric vehicles, build charging stations, and replace diesel transit vehicles such as school buses. Thus, almost 30% of the money designated for traditional infrastructure would not go to infrastructure at all.
- Home care services and workforce ($400 billion) – Expand long term health care services under Medicaid, expand the availability of home health care, improve the wages of home health workers, and help them organize a union. None of these services has ever been considered infrastructure.
- Manufacturing ($300 billion) – $50 billion would be for semiconductor manufacturing and $30 billion for medical manufacturing. Most of the rest would pay for clean energy initiatives.
- Housing ($213 billion) – Build, renovate, and retrofit two million homes and housing units. It also eliminates zoning laws that have the effect of excluding certain groups of people from certain areas.
- Research and Development ($180 billion) – Eliminate racial and gender inequities in research and development and science, technology, engineering and math. It would provide research grants to historically black colleges and minority serving institutions. Research would focus on climate science, and other “critical technologies and infrastructure.”
- Water ($111 billion) – Replacing all lead pipes and service lines in the US, not to repair physical damage but to decrease lead exposure to children in schools and day care.
- Schools ($100 billion) – Build new public schools and upgrade existing ones, especially with better ventilation systems, more technology labs, and better school kitchens. Part of this money would expand child care.
- Digital infrastructure ($100 billion) – Attain broadband coverage to 100% of Americans.
- Workforce development ($100 billion) – Retraining, apprenticeships, and work pathways.
- Modernize VA hospitals and federal buildings ($18 billion).
If you include broadband less than 25% of Biden’s proposed spending is actually going toward infrastructure!
Literally every Democrat wish list item is now being labelled as “infrastructure” in an attempt to get it through the Senate. Biden’s “Infrastructure” proposal is really an omnibus bill that changes the definition of “infrastructure” and funds left wing priorities without admitting it. Changing the definitions of words, just like rewriting history, comes straight out of the totalitarian playbook. George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 prominently features both techniques for gaining and maintaining absolute power. The Thought Police in DC should not slide social priorities into an “infrastructure” bill and hope no one notices!
Luckily for us, Republicans in Congress are NOT fooled by Biden’s bait and switch gambit. West Virginia’s own Shelley Moore Capito is leading Republican opposition in the Senate to prevent Biden’s bogus big spending bill from becoming the law. The House Republicans are also united in voting only for an infrastructure package that actually spends money on the actual infrastructure NOT social engineering.
Republicans in Congress have suggested a much more reasonable, and honest, infrastructure bill.[4] Biden has countered with another monstrosity.[5] Republicans, and all others who actually believe in clarity, honesty, and frugality, must oppose Biden’s attempts not just to pass a poor bill, but also to devalue language, deceive his fellow countrymen, and bankrupt America.
P.S. Please contact Senator Shelley Moore Capito and your Republican Congressional Member to thank them for standing strong against the Biden big spending agenda. Find the office numbers at wvgop.org
[1] America’s Infrastructure Scores a C-, American Society of Civil Engineers, https://infrastructurereportcard.org/.
[2] Center on Education and the Workforce, 15 Million Infrastructure Jobs, Georgetown University, https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/infrastructure/.
[3] Here’s what’s in Biden’s infrastructure proposal, CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/31/politics/infrastructure-proposal-biden-explainer/index.html.
[4] Countering Biden, Senate Republicans Unveil Smaller $568 Billion Infrastructure Plan, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2021/04/22/989841527/countering-biden-senate-republicans-unveil-smaller-568-billion-infrastructure-pl.
[5] Biden proposes $1.7 trillion infrastructure counteroffer to GOP, CBS News, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-infrastructure-counteroffer-1-7-trillion/.
