U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the Biden administration’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response as Vice President Kamala Harris listens in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, March 2, 2021.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is willing to negotiate on the proposed corporate tax rate hike in his $2 trillion infrastructure plan.
“I’m willing to listen to that,” Biden said at the White House when asked if he would consider a lower corporate tax rate than 28%, as his plan currently calls for.
“We’ve got to pay for this,” Biden added, noting that there are “many other ways we can do it.”
“But I’m willing to negotiate that,” he said.
The president’s remark about the corporate tax rate came after he delivered a sweeping defense of the size and scope of his proposed infrastructure overhaul.
Republicans have been quick to criticize the plan for funding too many projects that, in their view, fall outside the definition of infrastructure. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has tried to brand the plan a “Trojan Horse” for liberal policies, and GOP lawmakers have claimed that only a small fraction of the massive bill goes toward “real infrastructure.”
But Biden argued Wednesday afternoon that “the idea of infrastructure has always evolved to meet the aspirations of the American people and their needs. And it is evolving again today.”
While the president said he welcomes debate about the specifics of the bill, he said his own view is that infrastructure reform should be crafted with the future in mind, rather than focused on repairing existing structures.
“We don’t just fix for today. We build for tomorrow,” Biden said.
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