Special Briefing on the Biden Infrastructure Plan: Unmet Needs and State of Play

As finer details of the forthcoming infrastructure package are forming in congressional negotiations, panelists contemplate the unmet needs of US states and municipalities and how this federal funding could be strategically utilized to address these needs in a comprehensive manner. This special briefing features a panel of experts, including Carolyn Coleman, executive director and CEO of the League of California Cities; Andrew F. Haughwout, senior vice president and policy leader for Household and Regional in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Research and Statistics Group; Annie Linskey, White House reporter for the Washington Post; and Torsten Slok, chief economist for Apollo Global Group. 

Notable Quotes: 

“What we are still waiting for is more growth in services, more normalization in services. We are approaching more normal levels, but we are not back to the level of consumption of services we were at before the pandemic,” Torsten Slok. 

“One of the conclusions that I draw from all of this is that it’s going to be difficult to figure out exactly what the impact of this particular plan is going to be, because so much of it is about reducing ris.,” Andrew Haughwout. 

“In terms of managing for potential fiscal cliffs, I think it’s very good news that the ARPA dollars will be invested over time. They arrive in our communities in two tranches, and cities have until 2026 to expend those funds,” Carolyn Coleman. “

What has changed this week is the President has begun to say, ‘OK, I’ve done a lot of listening, and this is probably going to be in the bill, and this is what’s not going to be in the bill,’” Annie Linskey. 

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Special Briefing is published by the Volcker Alliance, as part of its Public Finance initiatives, and Penn IUR. The views expressed on this podcast are those of the panelists and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Volcker Alliance or Penn IUR.