Newsletter and insights
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SACC-DC also provides insights of the political development in the U.S. and from our members. You can read the insights below the newsletter archive.
President Biden’s First 250 Days in Office
With 250 days in office, the Biden administration has put forward economic policy proposals to act on various challenges. The policy proposals include investment in infrastructure, clean energy, and sustainable solutions.
Infrastructure
On August 10, the U.S. Senate passed the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), touted as the most significant federal investment in infrastructure in more than a decade. The Infrastructure Act provides nearly $1 trillion in funding for investment in roads, bridges, rail, transit, ports, airports, electric grid, water infrastructure, and broadband. President Biden emphasizes that the funding is a once-in-a-generation investment in America, unlike anything the U.S. has seen or done looking back decades. It is the most significant American Jobs investment since World War II, leading to economic growth –significantly needed amid the pandemic. The past year has threatened economic security, unmasked the fragility of U.S. infrastructure. The infrastructure investment grows the economy fundamentally; it puts people to work and creates businesses opportunities.
Clean Energy and Build Back Better
When elected for President, Biden emphasized the importance of going green and clean in the democratic party’s campaign promises. As a part of the infrastructure and Build Back Better
plan, the funding includes clean energy for a sustainable future. The Build Back Better plan combines investments in infrastructure, auto industry, transit, power sector, buildings, housing, innovation, environmental justice, and agriculture. The main purpose of these investments is to create more jobs and business opportunities. By rebuilding the infrastructure, the U.S. lays a new foundation for sustainable growth, while withstanding the impacts of climate change.
A new target is to achieve a 50 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030. President Biden states that “At this moment of profound crisis, we have the opportunity to build a more resilient, sustainable economy – one that will put the United States on an irreversible path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050”.
The Biden Administration has, in its first 250 days in office, focused on rebuilding the backbone of America. Various investments in infrastructure and clean energy suggest that the U.S., in the foreseeable future, aims to build back better and recover from the pandemic – creating more jobs and business opportunities.
Researched and written by Julia Jäger, Business Associate