By Congressman Kweisi Mfume
Last week President Joe Biden unveiled the "American Jobs Plan," a $2.3 trillion infrastructure investment plan to revitalize America over eight years. The Jobs Plan proposes crucial investments in long-neglected parts of our economy. It is designed to give people the tools and resources needed to lift themselves up, while also making the United States a world leader in areas where we have been falling behind. The Jobs Plan was written to meet specific needs of this era and will directly benefit our 7th Congressional District of Maryland.
For example, the Jobs Plan invests $111 billion to rebuild our nation's water infrastructure. It ambitiously seeks to replace all lead pipes and service lines across the country through a $45 billion program. This will reduce lead exposure in 400,000 schools and childcare facilities. It will also upgrade the country's drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, while tackling new contaminants and allotting $10 billion in funding to monitor and remediate drinking water.
The Plan also makes key investments in education by proposing $100 billion in new money for school construction, affecting schools like those in Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County. This will include upgrades to ventilation systems and school kitchens. Making our schools healthier places, where nutrition is valued, will give children the ability to make the most of their time in conducive learning environments. Likewise, the Jobs Plan proposes spending $12 billion to address physical and technological infrastructure needs at community colleges, a vital component of the education system for so many families in the 7th Congressional District.
The Jobs Plan even addresses childcare, an often-overlooked need in our society. Lack of access to safe and affordable childcare makes it harder for parents to fully participate in any workforce. The Biden-Harris proposal provides $25 billion to upgrade childcare facilities and expands a tax credit that will incentivize employers to co-locate day care facilities in the workplace. These proposals should benefit all families and communities, including lower income communities and/or communities of color that are disproportionately affected by the American childcare crisis.