Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg and Jennifer Rene Psaki

“ So this is a jobs plan that is building America’s economy from the middle class out, coming at just the right time. It’s meeting the challenges that we face today. And it is fully paid for by making corporations pay their fair share.
We think it’s unacceptable that there are major profitable corporations in this country paying less in taxes than a teacher or a firefighter, not in terms of a percentage, but in terms of dollars — specifically, in many cases, paying zero.
And there’s been a lot of talk at this moment, as you know, about what infrastructure is and isn’t. ”

“ And when you see other countries — our allies; also our strategic competitors — doing more than we are, it challenges that fundamental idea that American life is what it is partly because America is in first place in so many of these aspects of our national life. Only America is not in first place in infrastructure. Like I said, we’re in 13th.So when you have a strategic competitor, like China, investing sometimes multiples of what we are in forms of transportation, we have to make a decision about whether we’re content to be left behind or whether we actually want to remain number one. ”

“ But I will say, broadly, as you know and you alluded to in your question, we know it’s very difficult for workers to make the choice to form a union. That’s why the President’s American Jobs Plan includes the right — protecting the Right to Organize Act, which would give more workers the ability to organize and bargain collectively for — with their employees. ”

“ We’re not in the Cold War, and this is not the Eisenhower era, but that principle that national security is at stake applies, especially when you consider that, today, one of the biggest threats to our national security is the global security threat posed by climate change. ”

“ And we’ve — look, I’m the Secretary of Transportation; I can’t wait for us all to be on the move as much as possible in a safe and responsible way, but it’s got to be safe and responsible. And airlines have — airplanes have one safety profile; cruise ships have another, vehicles have another. And each one needs to be treated based on what’s safe for that sector.I’ll tell you, I certainly care a lot about seeing the cruise sector thrive. ”

“ Well, I would say we’re less than 100 days into our administration. What we can control is how we approach our relationship with China. We see it as one that is about competition, not about conflict. And our focus is also on approaching the relationship from a position of strength. So that includes rebuilding, investing in our workforce at home. Things like infrastructure investment, ensuring we have broadband access across our country, certainly fit into that category. ”

“ Our country is confronting historic crises: a pandemic, an economic downturn, climate change, and a reckoning on racial injustice. At the same time, we’re also inheriting a legacy of chronic underinvestment, in our view, in priorities that are vital to our long-term success and our ability to confront the challenges before us.
So the President is focused on reversing this trend and reinvesting in the foundations of our strength. And this process provides another opportunity to do that, and so the funding proposal is an indication of our priorities. ”

“ Household income grew, poverty fell, unemployment was cut in half. He helped spark citywide job growth and facilitated innovative public-private partnerships, like a benefits program to improve the city’s transportation experience for workers.
One of the mayor’s initiatives, “Smart Streets,” led to benefits that included small-business growth along previously neglected corridors and hundreds of millions of dollars in new private investment in the once-emptying downtown. ”

“ Having covered local — state and local government for almost 20 years before coming here, I’ve seen the divisions that can erupt in — within the state, between regions of the state over — as they fight over limited pots of money to build these kinds of infrastructure projects.How involved do you think the federal government, the Department of Transportation, the Congress, the White House should be in making the inevitable choices that are going to have to be made, in terms of which bridge gets fixed first, which road gets widened? ”

“ You know, our focus has long been working with Democrats and Republicans. That is the President’s objective. And obviously, the close margins make that a necessity.And so when we are inviting — when he is inviting members here, he’s inviting not just one wing of a party, not just one wing even of his own party; he wants to have the discussion about how we can work together to address our nation’s outdated infrastructure and rebuilding our workforce for the future. ”

“ Well, the President has said that whether to organize a union is a worker’s choice. And the National Labor Relations Board has a process for ensuring there’s an accurate count of the votes cast in selection so that we can know what choice the workers have made.So the President is going to wait — just for your own planning — for the NLRB to finish its process and declare a result to make a further comment. ”

“ Well, I think there’s always been a push/pull here — right? — because communities often know what is most needed for them. And we welcome that, and I think our program design recognizes that. So I view our role as laying out the broad policy strokes.Even in the existing discretionary grant programs, you’ve seen this. So, for example, with the INFRA — formerly known as FAST grants — we made sure that that first wave of calls for applications clarified that we’re looking for great projects that also bear on things like equity and climate that are important to this administration. ”

“ Broadband access probably actually impacts more rural areas that might be leaning more Republican than Democratic, if you look at it — the maps across the country.So our point is: This is addressing not a political issue; this is addressing a vital need in the country that’s not — that impacts all of the American people. ”

“ But don’t polls change a lot, whereas the elected officials are elected officials representing (inaudible) ? MS. PSAKI: There’s been pretty consistent support for infrastructure. And I think it’s an important point. We feel like it’s an important point. Because when we talk about bipartisanship, we’re talking about how we meet the needs of the American people — Republicans, independents, Democrats. Rebuilding bridges is not a Democratic idea. Ensuring kids don’t have access to — have access to clean water is not a Democratic idea. ”

“ Well, we heard about this earlier from some of your colleagues here in the White House Briefing Room — not specific to Alaska, but the cruise industry in general. It’s certainly an industry that we want to thrive, and we just want to ensure it is — we are reopening capacity in a safe manner and doing that as quickly as we can.I will say that we have been working with Senator Murkowski and Alaska officials on engaging Canada and finding ways to assist the cruise ships. That’s a process that’s ongoing. ”

“ I will say that, first, that this is a proposal for — to give guidance to the Hill, and hardworking budget staffers on the Hill, as they put together the 2022 — excuse me — budgetary plans.The focus of the plus-up on defense is meant to address a couple of issues over that period of time: promoting diversity and inclusion in the armed forces; fulfilling our commitments to military families — part of it goes to military and civilian pay increases, or that’s what proposed — is proposed; prioritizing defense investments in climate resilience and energy efficiency. ”

“ Treasury released a summary recently with a few more details on this, but I’m just wondering if you guys have — the White House has, kind of, a topline number for all those credits; how it affects the overall climate impact of the plan; and what role those might play in selling the plan to some Democrats on the left who have suggested they think the plan doesn’t go far enough on climate. MS. PSAKI: Sure. Well, I will say that the plan, we feel, reflects on the President’s view that there is a profound urgency and existential threat that we are facing from our climate crisis. ”

“ And there’s a question that I hope your colleagues on the Hill ask a number of Republicans, which is: Why would they oppose investment in our nation’s infrastructure when the vast majority of the American public thinks it’s imperative we do?But as the Secretary just said, the disagreement is not really about the need to modernize our nation’s infrastructure. ”

“ And you’ll continue to see that in the program design.
Of course, there’s always going to be competition for limited funds. But the other thing I would say is: That competition is most ferocious when the funds are most limited. And so, part of what we’re trying to do here is make sure there’s an ample set of resources to go around so that some communities may be the most successful in rounds of competition, but that it doesn’t feel like other computies [sic] — communities are being left behind, because we’ve got to make sure there’s enough to raise the bar in the country as a whole. ”

“ Secretary, many administration officials, including Secretary Granholm yesterday, frame infrastructure in the context of competition with China. So my question is: Why do that? Why design and frame a policy based — or in the context of what an adversary is doing? SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: I think because it’s really important to understand that American competitiveness happens in a context. ”

“ And we believe that he wants to take every opportunity we can to help address that.So, the American Jobs Plan will position the United States to meet President Biden’s goals of creating a carbon neutral power sector by 2035 and a clean energy sector by 2050. It will do that by building modern, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure; ensuring clean, safe drinking water is a right and available to all communities; revolutionizing electric vehicle manufacturing; mobilizing the next generation of conservation and resilience workers. ”

“ And the President believes very strongly that this is not something that should burden ordinary American families at a time when we’ve got so many corporations that have paid literally zero.And I also would argue that there’s ample evidence that American corporations can be competitive at a tax rate like 28, for the simple reason that they were extremely competitive at a tax rate like 35. ”

“ Since you’re Transportation Secretary — travel, obviously a big part of what you have to worry about. To Americans eager to get back overseas, whether it’s by plane or by cruise ship — as you know, there have been questions about the cruise industry, especially this past week.CDC issued some guidance ”

“ I can assure you that the President’s approach is responsible and that he is taking the advice, the counsel, the consultations of members of his military leadership, members of his diplomatic leadership, and also our partners and friends around the world into — into consideration as he’s making his decision.And his view is that’s the responsible approach. ”

“ When can we expect her to be here to share the administration’s strategy with us? MS. PSAKI: Well, we’re happy to invite her. She works out of the State Department. Right? So I would expect that she might speak there first, if you or a colleague is over there covering.I would say, look, that our approach is that the President remains committed to playing a constructive role in the global effort to defeat the virus. ”

“ We are — our focus and our relationship is one based on steep competition.We have been clearly — publicly and privately expressed our concerns — our growing concerns about China’s aggression towards Taiwan. China has taken increasingly coercive action to undercut democracy in Taiwan. ”

“ And we see that a lot of countries that have very rigorous standards around environmental and other concerns also have found ways to make sure the delivery is efficient.So provided it does not entail cutting any corners on things that are fundamental policy goals and legal requirements like, you know, environmental standards — you know, provided we can do it without cutting corners, I think we can find ways to make sure that the process is more efficient, to look for duplication, and try to root that out. ”

“ But what we haven’t heard from the administration is a kind of comprehensive and detailed strategy in terms of what the U.S. is doing to help the world recover from the pandemic not just in terms of vaccine sharing, but also supporting a financing mechanism or manufacturing, what have you. ”

“ We’re talking about building retrofits that are going to require union carpenters and insulators, painters, and glaziers. We’re going to need electrical workers more than ever. And we’re not going to be able to build the roads we need to build without construction workers, laborers, operating engineers. ”

“ So Republicans and Democrats here have requested a temporary waiver of the rule that blocks cruise ships from coming to Alaska without that Canadian stop. And I was curious what the administration thinks of those requests and whether action is possible before the end of the summer tourist season. ”

“ Well, I’ll say that I’ve heard a lot of voices from across the aisle also expressing concern about whether America is falling behind in any number of strategic and economic dimensions.And again, a lot of that depends on what we’re investing. ”