Rep. Dan Kildee Says Infrastructure Investment Would Have Big Impact in Michigan

Members of Congress are gearing up for another massive spending bill. President Biden is pushing for up to $3 trillion in new spending to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure as part of his “Build Back Better” plan to kick-start the American economy, rebuild the workforce and compete with foreign powers.

There’s hope this kind of spending might even attract some support across the aisle, as Republicans have also emphasized the need to rebuild American infrastructure in the past. But if recent history is a guide, the prospect of Republicans going along with any plan proposed by a Democrat is no safe bet. 

Listen: Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint Township) talks about the new push for a massive infrastructure spending bill.

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Guest

Rep. Dan Kildee is a Democrat from Flint Township representing Michigan’s 5th congressional district and the chief deputy whip of the House Democratic Caucus. He says we’ve allowed our infrastructure to deteriorate for far too long in America.

“This is one of those long-overdue issues that gets worse the longer we wait,” says Kildee, who says a big investment in infrastructure is also about “cleaning up the mistakes of the past and letting communities all start at the same starting line as the economy begins to grow.”

Kildee says he’s optimistic that this kind of plan will get support on both sides of the aisle.

“My hope is that this is a big step toward solving that problem and that Democrats and Republicans come together.”