We seem to be at a stalemate, America.
President Biden recently made an infrastructure bill counteroffer to Senate Republicans, lowering the total proposed cost from $2.3 trillion to $1.7 trillion. However, Republicans are still unsatisfied, releasing on Thursday a proposal for only $257 billion in infrastructure spending.
The stalled negotiations are not exactly surprising given the current political climate, but they do come at a time when our country finds itself in desperate need of strengthened infrastructure to improve private sector innovation.
Beyond the need to support American businesses, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence even reiterated in its Worldwide Threat Assessment last month that America’s reduced investment in technology and R&D continues to be a national security threat of primary concern. Historically, these reports have also classified China’s increased investment in technology development as a direct threat to our nation’s security.
Increased investment in R&D is one of the seemingly few areas of bipartisan agreement in today’s politics, and it could be the ticket to achieving compromise on Biden’s infrastructure plan.
Biden must work with both House and Senate Republicans to incorporate more tax incentives for U.S. businesses into his plan. Implementing these incentives would not only create more balance with the tax hikes that the President has proposed to pay for various infrastructure projects, but also encourage crucial growth in innovation efforts, bolster our national security, and add good-paying technical jobs to the American workforce. (Alliantgroup, the consulting firm I work for that helps businesses claim tax credits, would benefit from more tax credits being available to companies.)
