Vermont’s congressional delegation and state government leaders say they are enthusiastic about the possibilities in a major infrastructure plan unveiled last week by President Joe Biden.
The $2 trillion proposal would provide a massive overhaul of roads and bridges, rebuild aging schools and hospitals, replace thousands of water and sewer pipes, and make huge investments in electric vehicles and home health care. It would be paid for by increasing corporate taxes over 15 years.
State officials say they’re excited at the opportunity to make major investments in Vermont’s infrastructure.
“It could allow us to jumpstart and secure work on roads and bridges that otherwise would have taken years, if not decades, to accomplish,” said Joe Flynn, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Transportation. “This plan could certainly do a lot for the state of Vermont.”
Until Congress fleshes out its details, it remains unknown how much of the $2 trillion package could come to Vermont, and the specifics of how the money could be spent are also unclear. But officials say they have a long list of projects that would benefit from more federal help.
“Our highway system was designed in the 1950s and installed in the 1960s. It’s already over half a century old,” Flynn said. “We do have some failing infrastructure, and we will really be able to focus a lot more work on that with an increased amount of funding.”
In a written statement, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., called the plan “long overdue.” He said he looks forward to digging into its details.
“The president is proposing new investments in clean drinking water, revamping our electrical grid, and expanding access to high-speed broadband that will be crucial to rural areas like Vermont,” Leahy said. “And importantly, the president is addressing the reality of climate change by targeting these investments to make our infrastructure more resilient now and into the future, while creating good new jobs here at home in a new clean-energy economy.”
In an interview with VTDigger, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said that failing infrastructure disproportionately affects poor and disadvantaged communities, especially rural ones.
“The reality is, our failure to address the collapsing infrastructure of roads and bridges and mass transit has just accelerated that widening gap between the haves and the have-nots,” Welch said. “The Biden proposal is finally an acknowledgement that we have work to do.”
The third member of Vermont’s congressional delegation, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., did not respond to requests for comment about the proposal.
Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, has been speaking for months with the delegation about how the potential funding could be used, according to his spokesperson, Jason Maulucci.
“Smart infrastructure investments will help create good-paying jobs, strengthen services that Vermonters and Americans rely on, improve economic equity in rural states like Vermont, and make America more competitive in the 21st-century economy,” Scott said in a statement.
The governor’s budget proposal for next fiscal year includes $680 million for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, which would be the second largest budget in the agency’s history.
“I don’t want to give the impression that we’re woefully underfunded, because we’re not,” Flynn said. “But something like the Biden budget plan would allow us to forecast projects for, I believe, eight years.”
Flynn said that sort of forecasting is crucial, because when it comes to infrastructure — which requires planning, purchasing and permitting — it’s hard to spend a lot of money in a short period of time. He said the Biden plan accounts for that reality, and would give states time to spend the money well.
“We’ve been hearing about infrastructure investment for four years now,” Flynn said, referring to former President Donald Trump’s unrealized goal to enact such a plan. “This is really good news that is being put forth, and I believe Congress understands that, if you look across the United States, our infrastructure needs attention. It’s not just Vermont.”
Though Trump described himself as a “builder,” Welch said, he ultimately focused his presidency on passing tax cuts for the wealthy — contributed to economic inequality.
“That inequality has just propelled folks in the top 1% into the extraordinary wealth they have,” Welch said. “That way, they have means to create their own infrastructure, whether it’s private schools or private home care or private travel.”
Welch said he’s particularly focused on ensuring that $100 billion of the plan goes toward broadband expansion, something Vermont has spent decades trying to build out. The plan would put an additional $111 billion toward clean drinking water, replacing all lead pipes and service lines.
“Some of the water and sewer systems in Vermont date back to the Civil War,” Welch said. “That’s a real need we have in many of our communities.”
The proposal would also address climate, with $180 billion going toward research and development focused on clean energy, and $174 billion to expand the country’s electric vehicle network.
“In Vermont, we’re generating a fair amount of renewable energy,” Welch said. “This would help us build a better grid to transport that to folks who are in need of the clean energy that’s been created.”
Welch said Republican leadership in Congress opposes the proposal, but polling shows Republican voters actually support it.
Welch said he’s “very impressed” with the proposal’s ambition, and he favors Biden’s plan to raise corporate tax rates that were cut during the Trump administration.
“Compared to what the need is, it could probably be larger,” Welch said of the corporate tax increase. “It’s an ambitious program that addresses the traditional infrastructure needs of roads and bridges and mass transit and rail, but it also acknowledges that there’s been a lack of investment, and that’s been very detrimental to working-class people and to severely disadvantaged communities, including the BIPOC community.”
