On Wednesday, President Biden outlined the White House’s proposal for his infrastructure and climate legislation, The American Jobs Plan. The one-time investment in infrastructure is sweeping, covering policy from climate change to workforce development, and would amount to an investment of about 1 percent of the gross domestic product per year over eight years. Additionally, a second economic proposal, The American Family Plan, will be released in the coming weeks and is expected to include a number of priorities critical to congressional Democrats, such as a major expansion in health insurance coverage, subsidies for childcare and free access to community colleges, among other measures. Notably for RCRC, a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax was not included in President Biden’s plan as an option to pay for the $2.25 trillion package. Nevertheless, this plan merely serves to table-set negotiations between Congressional Democrats and Republicans and does not represent the final proposal that will be enacted. Therefore, a VMT is still likely to be debated and even possibly enacted as Congress begins its formal negotiations on a final package.
