U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:10 PM PT – Sunday, April 4, 2021
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg commented on New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) push to make the infrastructure bill bigger. On Sunday, Buttigieg said AOC’s proposal was bolder than the already proposed $2 trillion plan.
WATCH: “The vision the president has put forward is fully paid for,” says @SecretaryPete of Pres. Biden’s infrastructure plan. #MTP
Buttigieg: “We’re just asking corporations to pay their fair share at a rate … that would be lower than it’s been for most of my life.” pic.twitter.com/YrWLnCMzny
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 4, 2021
He said this was part of the bargaining process as Republicans have asked for a smaller bill and progressives have asked for something larger. Recently, AOC urged Joe Biden to push for a $10 trillion bill, which she claimed to be “realistic.” However, Buttigieg argued the bill has more than enough funding to develop America’s infrastructure.
“There are obviously a lot of people on the other side of the aisle saying, ‘This is too big, too bold,” Buttigieg stated. “And then, some of our friends on our side of the aisle are saying: It should be even bolder.’ Again, that’s a natural part of this conversation and this process, but let me stress, this is the biggest investment in American job creation proposed or, if achieved, since World War II. This is a huge deal.”
Republicans criticized the infrastructure bill for allocating only five percent of its budget for traditional infrastructure maintenance.
