Biden introduces $1.3 trillion infrastructure plan

Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Former Vice President Joe Biden announced a new infrastructure plan Thursday that would spend $1.3 trillion over 10 years to revitalize the Highway Trust Fund, create jobs and slash carbon emissions.

Billed as a plan to "invest in middle-class competitiveness," it would put money toward transit and high-speed rail along with an effort to work directly with cities to improve streets and other infrastructure projects.

The campaign said the plan would "equip the American middle class to compete and win in the global economy, to move the U.S. to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, and to ensure that cities, towns, and rural areas all across our country share in that growth."

The plan said Biden would spend $50 billion of the $1.3 trillion in his first year in office, repairing existing roads and bridges, with another $10 billion going to building up transit in high-poverty areas.

The plan comes as Biden tries to burnish his credentials with the working middle class and woo younger climate-conscious millennials.

The latest Real Clear Politics composite poll shows him with a 5.2-point lead over Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren along with the announcements of former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and former New York Gov. Michael Bloomberg entering the race.

The campaign said the infrastructure plan will create new good-paying jobs for the middle class, develop a network of electric car charging stations and high-speed rail that would drive down greenhouse gas emissions, and deliver broadband Internet to locations not currently served.

"Our nation's infrastructure is literally crumbling," the Biden campaign said. "It is unacceptable that one in five miles of our highways are in 'poor condition,' that tens of millions of Americans lack access to high-speed broadband, and that our public schools have repeatedly earned a D+ grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

"Biden will revitalize America's infrastructure and make us more competitive with the rest of the world, while also creating and sustaining quality, middle-class jobs at home," the campaign added.