Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Sunday that Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s demand for a $ 10 trillion infrastructure spending package is a “natural part” of the debate over the $ 10 billion spending proposal. 2 trillion from President Biden.
ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos asked Buttigieg to respond to progressives like Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., who believe Biden’s “American Jobs Plan” is not bold enough.
Buttigieg said that both sides of the aisle objected to its price and reach, and that these differences are a “natural part” of the conversation.
Buttigieg then said that the massive proposal is “the biggest investment in creating American jobs” since World War II, calling it “big business”. He said the spending plan will replace or improve 10,000 bridges, provide broadband to all Americans and create 19 million jobs.
Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) walks up the stairs of the House at the Capitol on Thursday, March 11, 2021 in Washington, DC. The incendiary liberal member of the House asked for trillions of dollars more in spending than President Biden is proposing in his “American Employment Plan”. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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$ 2.2T INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE FROM AOC SLAMS BIDEN: ‘NOT ALMOST ENOUGH’
Ocasio-Cortez reacted to Biden’s infrastructure proposal last week, saying it “needs to be much bigger”. During a recent appearance on MSNBC, Ocasio-Cortez told host Rachel Maddow that the House should “absolutely” increase the scope of the package before it is sent to the Senate.
“If we could wave a magic wand and progressives in the Chamber could quote any number and pass – which is obviously not the case, but if we are looking at ideals … we are realistically talking about $ 10 trillion in 10 years,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
REPUBLICAN SENATORS ALIGN AGAINST THE MASSIVE BIDEN $ 2T SPENDING ACCOUNT: INFRASTRUCTURE ‘FAR CRY’
Republican senators are voicing their opposition to Biden’s proposal, including moderate Republicans who tried to work with the Biden government on the coronavirus stimulus project.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Expressed concern last week that Biden’s proposal would add trillions to the national debt. He also said it addresses much more than infrastructure, despite the White House selling it as an infrastructure plan.
In this archival photo of January 21, 2021, the nominee for Secretary of Transport, Pete Buttigieg, speaks during a confirmation hearing from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee at the Capitol in Washington. Buttigieg is one of the top secretaries of the Biden Cabinet who is selling the president’s “American Employment Plan”. (Stefani Reynolds / Pool via AP)
“It contains far-reaching priorities for the extreme left, such as attacking the American workers’ right to work protections, a big favor for the great labor leaders,” said McConnell.
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Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the $ 2 trillion plan is “actually just the New Green Deal, masquerading as an infrastructure plan”.
Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a moderate, said Biden’s management plan “redefines the infrastructure to include hundreds of billions of dollars of spending on priorities such as health, workforce development and research and development”.