By Andrea Shalal and David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that tax increases are needed to pay for at least part of a major infrastructure, climate and education investment package that President Joe Biden plans to introduce later this year set.
Yellen, in an interview with CNBC, said details are still being worked out about the infrastructure and clean energy package, which will come on top of a $ 1.9 billion coronavirus relief plan now working through Congress.
She said it would include investments in clean energy to combat climate change and investments in education and training to build the skill levels of American workers and promote American competitiveness.
“Part of the package, the permanent parts, will definitely be paid for in order not to increase short-term shortfalls, but we are still working on the details of the package.”
The infrastructure, climate and education plan is likely to be proposed later this year and will involve spending over a number of years.
Biden’s $ 1.9 billion COVID-19 stimulus package aims to ensure growth is strong enough to return to full employment faster than recent estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, which predicted earlier this month that 2024 would last under current laws until 2024. to reach pre-pandemic employment levels.
With the Biden Stimulation Plan and good progress with vaccines to defeat the pandemic, “I thought we could be at full service again next year,” she said.
Yellen underestimated the potential risk of trillion-dollar inflation on new stimulus and infrastructure spending, saying that inflation has been low for a decade and that the Federal Reserve has the tools to deal with it.
“The greater risk is that lesions occur and that people with this pandemic claim their lives and livelihoods for life,” if no further assistance is provided, she said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; editing by Leslie Adler and Aurora Ellis)