democrats propose alternative infrastructure bill

Senate Democrats have unveiled a sweeping infrastructure bill calling for $1 trillion in spending on a variety of individual projects.

As proposed, the Democrat legislation will provide up to $140 billion for road and bridge projects, $115 billion for water and sewer infrastructure, $50 billion for public school rebuilding, and up to $40 billion on high-speed internet projects.

Funding would also be secured to upgrade the nation’s water and sewer systems.
 
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer has said that some of the funding for the infrastructure proposal could be achieved by imposing a tax rate of 39.6 percent on upper incomes, up from the current 37 percent.

Schumer also said the nation’s corporate income tax could jump from the current 21 percent to 25 percent.

“We want to roll back the Republican tax giveaways to big corporations and the very wealthy and invest that money instead in job-creating infrastructure,” Schumer said on the floor of the Senate.

In February President Trump recommended a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan that additionally called for $200 billion in federal seed money for infrastructure projects. That plan relied on increased state and local spending for such projects.

By Garry Boulard