Over the past few weeks, leading Democrats in Washington have claimed that items range from care, to climate action, after the Everglades Ecosystem in South Florida are all examples of infrastructure.
President Biden said at a recent press conference that computer chips are infrastructure and told reporters “chips, like the ones I have here – these chips, these chips, are batteries, broadband; it’s all infrastructure. It’s infrastructure.”
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Announced on Twitter last week that ‘climate action is infrastructure, “argue in a Washington Post op-ed that a true infrastructure plan will deliver ‘climate justice’ and must contain the key elements of the Green New Deal.
And representative Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., Said three days ago that ‘affordable housing is infrastructure‘when she announced new legislation that would make’ smart, effective and green investments in housing infrastructure ‘across the country.
Their colleagues in state politics go further. Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, the second most senior state Democrat in Wisconsin, said ‘accountability of the police is infrastructure‘Thursday when he calls for police reform.
Some Democrats even made jokes about how far their party extends the limits of the term. The newly elected representative Mondaire Jones, DN.Y., tweeted on Wednesday that ‘Expansion of the Supreme Court is infrastructure, “a tongue-in-cheek reference to his plan to add four new members to the Supreme Court.
The statements come during the sale of the U.S. House Plan of the White House, a $ 2.25 billion bill that, according to Biden, is a “blueprint for infrastructure needed for tomorrow.”
This would be the second legislation for the Biden government after the US rescue plan. The COVID-19 recovery bill includes unrelated spending provisions, such as $ 100 million for a Silicon Valley Railroad Project and $ 1.5 million for a bridge between the US and Canada favored by Senate leader Chuck Schumer.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand first raised eyebrows over the definition of ‘infrastructure’ in early April when she said: “Paid leave is infrastructure. Child care is infrastructure. Care is infrastructure.”
She told Neil Cavuto to Fox News last week that ‘we … define infrastructure as necessary to get the economy going. And if you do not have access to day care, universal pre-K, affordable day care or a nationally paid leave plan, it is going to be really difficult to get families back to work. ‘
Meanwhile, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters last month that Biden’s bill ‘is like a Trojan horse … it’s called infrastructure, but within the Trojan horse it’s going to be more borrowed money and massive tax increases on all the productive parts of our economy.’
The New Oxford American Dictionary defines infrastructure as “the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (eg buildings, roads, power sources) required for the operation of a society or enterprise.”
Rémy Numa is the specialist in political affairs for Fox News Channel.