U.S. Rep. Kaiali'i Kahele (D-Hawaii) is touting President Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure proposal, called the American Jobs Plan.
“I’m working hard with the Hawaiʻi delegation to address the long overdue infrastructure needs of our state,” Kahele said on Facebook. “The #AmericanJobsPlan is a once-in-a-generation investment in America itself. Let’s get to work.”
The bill would fund the rebuilding of roads and bridges in Hawaii, Kahele told Hawaii News Now.
“We’re working very closely with the four county mayors to make sure we received every single federal dollar we can get for Hawaii,” he told the station. “It's also trying to get some projects that have been waiting for a long time like the Aloha project.”
That $90 million project would be for a “super” Community Based Outpatient Clinic for veterans, the congressman said.
The American Jobs Plan was unveiled by Biden in late March.
“The United States of America is the wealthiest country in the world, yet we rank 13th when it comes to the overall quality of our infrastructure,” the White House said in a statement. “After decades of disinvestment, our roads, bridges and water systems are crumbling. Our electric grid is vulnerable to catastrophic outages. Too many lack access to affordable, high-speed Internet and to quality housing.”
The plan is to “unify and mobilize the country to meet the great challenges of our time: The climate crisis and the ambitions of an autocratic China,” the statement said.
An estimated 40% of the benefits of climate and clean infrastructure investments would go to disadvantaged communities, Biden said.
“And, the plan invests in rural communities and communities impacted by the market-based transition to clean energy,” the statement said.
The proposal would cost $2 trillion this decade and would be funded by increases in corporate taxes, the president said.
“It will be fully paid for within the next 15 years and reduce deficits in the years after,” the statement said.