Jan 24, 2017

The Democrats' $1 trillion infrastructure bill

Democratic Senators unveiled a $1 trillion plan they said would create 15 million jobs. Here are some highlights:

  • $180 billion to rail and bus systems
  • $65 billion to ports, airports and waterways
  • $110 billion to water and sewer systems; $100 billion to energy infrastructure
  • $20 billion to public and tribal lands.

Sen. Chuck Schumer said it is a "job creating bill" and should have bipartisan support. Dems will rally behind it as long as Trump doesn't cut middle class programs "like education and healthcare" to pay for it. Bernie Sanders called the bill a "no brainer," and said that "when we rebuild our infrastructure we rebuild the middle class."

Our thought bubble: Democrats will not be writing the infrastructure spending bill. Republicans will. Maybe some ideas from this one will be points of compromise in what Republicans unveil but like most things written by the congressional minority, this is more of a thought exercise than a legislative blueprint.

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Axios
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m. ET: 32,390,204 — Total deaths: 985,302 — Total recoveries: 22,286,345 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m ET: 7,020,967 — Total deaths: 203,481 — Total recoveries: 2,710,183 — Total tests: 98,476,600 — Map.
  3. States: "We’re not closing anything going forward": Florida fully lifts COVID restaurant restrictions — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus.
  4. Health: Young people accounted for 20% of cases this summer.
  5. Business: Coronavirus has made airports happier places —The expiration of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance looms.
  6. Education: Where bringing students back to school is most risky.
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Mike Allen, author of AM
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden pushes unity message in new TV wave

A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.

What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin:

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Jonathan Swan, Alayna Treene, Sam Baker
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump prepares to announce Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court replacement

Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Photo: Matt Cashore/Notre Dame University via Reuters

President Trump is preparing to nominate federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, a favorite of both the social conservative base and Republican elected officials, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republican sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Barrett would push the already conservative court further and harder to the right, for decades to come, on the most important issues in American politics — from abortion to the limits of presidential power. If confirmed, she would give conservatives a 6-3 majority on the high court.

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