Get details of the US infrastructure package 3:11
(CNN) -
The Senate's massive $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure package marked a major bipartisan achievement after months of negotiations.
The legislation, which has yet to be approved by the House, would provide $ 550 billion in new federal spending over five years.
The new investments would go far beyond traditional infrastructure projects for roads, bridges and railways.
There is also money to improve Americans' access to broadband, for electric school buses, and to begin tackling racial profiling in infrastructure.
The bill would also change tax reporting requirements for cryptocurrencies and delay a controversial drug reimbursement rule - both included as ways to help pay for investments.
US Senate Passes $ 1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
Still, the bill omits a number of other non-traditional infrastructure investments that President Joe Biden had called for. His original $ 2.25 trillion proposal, known as the American Jobs Plan, included money for the care of older Americans and for workforce training, provisions that Republicans they argued that they did not belong to an infrastructure bill.
The bipartisan bill also does not include a corporate tax increase, as Biden proposed to pay for expenses.
Instead, lawmakers found other ways to help cover the cost, such as imposing new Superfund fees - officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Responsibility, Compensation and Response Act of 1980 - and repurposing some Covid-19 relief funds, which were already approved by Congress during the pandemic.
America desperately needs 1 million more construction workers
But an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that those provisions would not fully pay for the bill and the legislation would add $ 256 billion to the federal budget deficit over 10 years. .
Despite that analysis, the bill's authors say the new spending would be offset by a combination of savings and new income totaling $ 519 billion, only some of which is reflected in the CBO score, as the agency is limited in what it can include in its formal report.
advertising
Wearing masks causes political tension in the US 2:36
Here are five things that were built into the bill that might surprise you:
1. Broadband upgrade
The bill would provide a $ 65 billion investment to improve the nation's broadband infrastructure, ensuring that all Americans have access to high-speed Internet.
Biden initially wanted to invest $ 100 billion in broadband.
Biden will address the intelligence community for the first time as president
The legislation aims to help lower the price households pay for Internet service by requiring recipients of federal funds to offer affordable low-cost plans, creating price transparency, and driving competition in areas where existing providers they do not provide adequate service.
A permanent federal program would also be created to help more low-income households access the Internet, according to the White House.
2. Electric school buses.
The bill makes a large investment in electric vehicles and the infrastructure necessary to use them.
It would help school districts across the country purchase clean, zero-emission, U.S.-made buses with the goal of replacing the yellow school bus fleet by providing $ 5 billion toward the purchase of clean, zero-emission buses. and US $ 2.5 billion for ferries.
Biden Announces New Emission Standards, Aiming for 50% of US Vehicles Sold by 2030 to Be Electric
The bill would invest $ 7.5 billion to build a national network of plug-in electric vehicle chargers along highways to enable long-distance travel, as well as within communities where people live, work and shop. .
3. Address racial discrimination in infrastructure
The legislation contains $ 1 billion to reconnect disproportionately black communities and neighborhoods, which were divided by roads and other infrastructure, according to the White House.
It would finance the planning, design, demolition, and reconstruction of street networks, parks, or other infrastructure.
Biden to Announce New Actions to Reduce the Racial Wealth Gap, 100 Years After the Tulsa Massacre
Many black homes, businesses, and neighborhoods across the country were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s to clear space for the construction of interstate highways, displacing many residents and entrepreneurs, and isolating others from the rest of the community.
Biden's original plan called for a $ 20 billion investment to correct historic inequalities and ensure that new projects advance opportunity, racial equity and environmental justice.
The racial issue will be crucial for Biden 1:29
4. New tax regulation on cryptocurrencies
A hidden provision at the end of the Senate bill would impose new tax reporting requirements on cryptocurrency transactions - a measure that Congress estimates could raise $ 28 billion in new revenue to help pay for the package of cryptocurrency. infrastructure.
The legislation could have wide ramifications for cryptocurrency investors and innovators.
Do you want to buy bitcoin?
We explain how to invest in cryptocurrencies
The provision appears to be aimed at the exchange of cryptocurrencies that help investors trade bitcoins and other virtual currencies. But opponents argue that the measure is worded so broadly that it could also unintentionally affect others in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, from software developers to bitcoin miners, who are not considered financial intermediaries in any practical sense. Industry advocates have said "non-intermediaries" would not be able to provide the tax information that would be required by law and could move abroad as a result, with negative effects on US innovation and technology leadership.
In a last-ditch effort, a group of senators tried unsuccessfully to amend the infrastructure bill to make it clear that only cryptocurrency exchanges would be covered by the new tax filing rules, and crypto advocates have pledged to pressure House legislators to adopt narrower language.
5. Delay of a drug reimbursement rule
To help pay for infrastructure spending, the legislation would delay the implementation of a controversial Trump administration rule that would radically change the price and payment of drugs in Medicare and Medicaid.
It is expected to save $ 51 billion.
The rule, which the Trump administration unveiled last November, would effectively bar drug makers from granting rebates to drug benefit managers and insurers.
Instead, pharmaceutical companies would be encouraged to give the discounts directly to patients at the pharmacy counter.
The Trump administration had backed down from issuing this rule in 2019 after it was found to increase costs for seniors and the federal government.
The proposed rule, which was expected to increase Medicare premiums, would also have increased Medicare spending by $ 170 billion over 10 years, according to the CBO.
The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), which represents pharmaceutical benefits managers, has sued the Trump administration to halt implementation of the rule.
The Biden administration agreed in February to delay implementation until 2023, instead of 2022.
Biden: 943,000 new jobs created during July 1:27
This is also in the bill:
Financing for roads and bridges
The deal seeks to invest $ 110 billion for roads, bridges and large infrastructure projects, roughly the same amount agreed to in the bipartisan bill in June, but significantly less than the $ 159 billion that Biden initially requested in the Employment Plan. U.S.
It includes $ 40 billion for bridge repair, replacement and rehabilitation, which the White House says would be the largest investment dedicated to a bridge since the construction of the interstate highway system, which began in the 1950s.
The deal also contains $ 16 billion for major projects that would be too large or complex for traditional financing programs.
ANALYSIS |
Everything is getting more expensive.
Is it time to worry?
Some 20%, or 280,000 km, of the country's highways and main roads are in poor condition, as are 45,000 bridges, according to the White House.
Investments would focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians.
Also included in the package is $ 11 billion for transportation safety, including a program to help states and localities reduce crashes and fatalities, especially of bicyclists and pedestrians.
It would direct the funds to safety initiatives on roads, cranes and pipelines and hazardous materials.
Biden celebrates bipartisan agreement on infrastructure 2:28
Money for transit and railways
The package would provide $ 39 billion to modernize public transportation and improve accessibility for the elderly and disabled, less than the $ 49 billion contained in the previous bipartisan agreement and the $ 85 billion that Biden initially wanted to invest in modernizing the transit systems and help them expand to meet passenger demand.
The funds would repair and upgrade existing infrastructure, make stations accessible to all users, bring transit service to new communities, and modernize train and bus fleets, including replacing thousands of vehicles with zero-emission models, according to the White House.
Going to net zero emissions to control climate change could cost $ 2 trillion a year, report says
The deal would also invest $ 66 billion in railways to eliminate Amtrak's maintenance backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor line, and bring rail service to areas outside of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
The package includes $ 12 billion in partnership grants for intercity rail service, including high-speed rail.
The funding is the same as under the bipartisan framework, but less than the $ 80 billion that Biden originally wanted to send to Amtrak, which he relied on for decades to return to Delaware from Washington.
It would be the largest federal investment in public transportation in history and in passenger trains since Amtrak was created 50 years ago, according to the White House.
Improvement of airports, ports and waterways
The legislation would invest $ 17 billion in port infrastructure and $ 25 billion in airports to address delays in repairs and maintenance, reduce congestion and emissions near ports and airports, and promote electrification and other low-carbon technologies, according to the White House.
It is similar to the funding of the bipartisan agreement and Biden's original proposal.
Improvement of energy and water systems
The bill would invest $ 73 billion in the nation's energy fabric, to build thousands of miles of new power lines and expand renewable energy.
Expert explains why we are increasingly exposed to a cyber attack
It would provide $ 55 billion to improve water infrastructure, replacing lead service lines and pipes so that communities have access to clean drinking water.
Another $ 50 billion would go towards making the system more resilient, protecting it from droughts, floods and cyberattacks.
Environmental remediation
The bill would provide $ 21 billion to clean up the Superfund and Brownfield sites, reclaim abandoned mining lands and plug orphan gas wells.
How responsible is Latin America for climate change?
1:05
How Congress Will Pay It
The CBO and the bill's negotiators have different views on the funding measures in the legislation.
The agency believes that it is not fully paid and, therefore, would increase the deficit, and some experts agree.
However, according to a statement released last Thursday by Senators Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, and Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, who led the bipartisan negotiations, the package includes $ 519 billion in compensation.
They include:
$ 53 billion coming from roughly two dozen states that chose to end pandemic unemployment benefits early to push the unemployed back to work and from fewer people collecting unemployment compensation because the economy improved faster than what was initially planned.
$ 67 billion in unused savings from the Covid-19 employer withholding tax credit that the CBO projected would be used but not used.
$ 106 billion in unused savings from covid-19 paid and family leave tax credits that were projected to be used, but not used.
$ 51 billion for delaying implementation of the controversial Medicare Part D prescription drug reimbursement rule.
$ 21 billion from the reuse of unspent funds from 2020 coronavirus relief bills for programs that help small businesses, airline workers and schools.
$ 10.2 billion from sales from future Federal Communications Commission spectrum auctions and $ 67 billion from the agency's February auction proceeds for mid-band spectrum that supports wireless services.
US $ 53,000 million in economic growth as a result of a 33% return on investment in long-term projects.
$ 28 billion for changing tax reporting requirements for cryptocurrencies.
$ 21 billion from extended fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac evaluate on loans included in mortgage-backed securities.
$ 14.5 billion to reinstate certain Superfund fees on chemicals to help fund cleanup of highly contaminated waste sites.
Plus nearly $ 27 billion in other measures.
Missing
The agreement sets aside Biden's proposal to spend $ 400 billion to bolster care for aging Americans and people with disabilities, the second-largest measure in the American Employment Plan.
His proposal would have expanded access to Medicaid long-term care services, eliminating the waiting list for hundreds of thousands of people.
It would have provided more opportunities for people to receive care at home through community services or family members.
It would also have improved the wages of home health workers, who now earn about US $ 12 an hour, and put in place an infrastructure to give caregivers the opportunity to join a union.
Democrats in the House of Representatives will not be able to access Trump's tax returns until at least November
Also set aside: $ 100 billion for workforce development.
This would have helped displaced workers, assisted underserved groups, and put students on career paths before graduating from high school.
The deal also leaves out the $ 18 billion Biden proposed to modernize Veterans Affairs hospitals, which are on average 47 years older than private sector hospitals.
What's also out is a series of corporate tax increases that Biden wanted to use to pay for the American Jobs Plan, but Republicans strongly opposed it.
Covid-19 inequality: the pandemic has plunged some into poverty, while boosting the savings of others
Biden's original proposal called for raising the corporate income tax rate to 28%, up from the 21% rate set by the Republicans' 2017 tax cuts law, as well as increasing the minimum tax on companies. US corporations to 21% and calculate it country by country to discourage companies from protecting their profits in international tax havens.
It would also have applied a minimum tax of 15% on the income that larger corporations report to investors, known as accounting income, as opposed to income reported to the Internal Revenue Service, and would have made it difficult for US companies to acquire or merge. with foreign companies to avoid paying US taxes claiming to be foreign companies.
They propose in the US a tax on space tourism 1:04
infrastructure