The infrastructure bill is ‘a really, really big deal for the country’: Expert

Center for American Progress Action Fund President and Executive Director Navin Nayak speaks with Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre about the infrastructure plan and President Biden's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Video transcript

JARED BLIKRE: Navin, what should we expect from this infrastructure bill signing today? How pivotal is it?

NAVIN NAYAK: I mean, I think it's actually a really, really big day for the country overall, certainly a big day for the president and this administration politically. But, you know, we haven't made these kinds of investments in our economy for, in some cases, decades, in some cases, ever. We're seeing the largest investments in public transit. We're seeing a huge investment in broadband to actually ensure that every American has access to affordable, high speed internet.

So I think that, to be honest, like, these are the sorts of investments that both business, labor, nonprofit sector has been pushing for, for decades. And I think it's exactly the kind of thing that President Biden sort of promised, right? He promised when he ran that he would make Washington work again, that he would find common ground with Republicans. And that's really what he's able to do with this bill. So I think it's a pretty encouraging step forward for the economy and the country overall.

EMILY MCCORMICK: Navin, this is Emily McCormick here. I'm wondering once the ink is dry on this legislation this afternoon, how soon should the American public be ready to start seeing some of these changes and some of these spending actually get implemented into the economy?

NAVIN NAYAK: Yeah, I mean, I think some of these things are longer term investments. These aren't going to be sort of the shot in the arm that a lot of Americans saw with the American Rescue Plan, literally getting vaccines in people's arms, but also checks in bank accounts. But I think we're going to-- you know, I think the administration appreciates the urgency of starting to move this money out the door. They announced yesterday that former Mayor Mitch Landrieu will be overseeing these investments and making sure that we're being efficient and thoughtful and expeditious.

So, you know, a lot of these things have been on hold for a decade or longer. So I don't think they're going to waste any time. But I don't know that people's airports are going to be fixed overnight, obviously, or that we're going to see the challenges with our infrastructure at large. But I think you'll see the process start, and I think there's a real story here about America investing in ourselves. And that's something we haven't really done for a long time.

JARED BLIKRE: I just want to shift gears a little bit here. President Biden is said to meet with President Xi Jinping virtually later this evening after the signing ceremony and really talking about the a little bit of animosity between the two countries, the administration calling the Xi Jinping regime intense competition. And but both sides are trying to prevent conflict here. So what should we expect from this meeting?

NAVIN NAYAK: I mean, I think, you know, there's a wide range of issues, obviously, that are going to be on the table. I think over the last couple of weeks, you know, it was encouraging from the perspective of at least climate that the two countries were able to set aside differences and a real win for the planet, and certainly, for the Biden administration to be able to work directly with China to make progress on that front.

And unfortunately, I'm not sure that we're going to see the same sort of ability to collaborate on a whole host of other issues, obviously, from human rights issues to other pressing economic challenges. So I think it's encouraging that there is a conversation moving forward. I don't know that there's the same level of optimism for some of the challenges being able to be resolved in one conversation.

EMILY MCCORMICK: Right, and Navin, going back to the infrastructure bill, of course, one of the things that the Biden administration has been talking about is that this spending is actually going to alleviate some of the inflationary pressures we've been seeing in the economy because of supply bottlenecks that have, in part, been because of port congestion and other infrastructure concerns here. What do you think about this argument? And do you see this additional $550 billion in spending contributing further to some of these inflationary pressures?

NAVIN NAYAK: I think there's not a lot of concern about this bill or even the Build Back Better bill, which Congress is still considering, adding to inflation. I think a lot of economists have agreed that if anything, over the long haul, these are going to be really important for reducing inflation for the reasons you mentioned specifically, which are solving some of the bottlenecks in our transportation, in our ports, in our airports, the infrastructure problems we know. And I think in the short term also, both of these bills are paid for.

And I think unlike the American Rescue-- or sorry, the American Rescue Plan, excuse me-- you know, which injected $1.9 trillion in roughly a year and wasn't paid for, I think we're seeing these investments intentionally be longer term, over 10 years, and be fully paid for. And so I don't think we have to worry about the sort of concerns around inflation.

And if anything-- and I think this is really important to the American people-- these bills are really about trying to reduce a lot of the cost challenges that Americans face every day, particularly with the Build Back Better Act. We're talking about reducing really painful expenses for Americans, whether that's child care, energy costs, prescription drug costs. And so, in the long run, these are going to be a huge benefit for the American people.

JARED BLIKRE: And then, with the Build Back Better Act, on the timing front, I'm just wondering, the infrastructure bill, that gets signed today, but it is-- we're getting towards the end of the year. And I'm just wondering because President Biden, his approval ratings are at, I believe, right now, the lowest of his administration of his term so far. But these are very popular bills. I'm just wondering, is it possible that they've lost some momentum? And what is the possible timeline for getting the Build Back Better Act passed?

NAVIN NAYAK: That's a great question. I think the first step this week that's going to be really critical is that the House is set to have a vote on it. And I think it's crucial that Democrats in the House are able to move the bill forward. And then-- you know, and then I think we've got the last few weeks of the year to make sure that the Senate passes this. But, you know, so I think that the likelihood is still really high.

And I think for the Biden administration, it's not just about their approval ratings, but they are laying out a really different vision for how you build a strong economy in this country, right? We've spent 40 years building the economy dramatically mostly at the expense of working people by providing tax cuts to the wealthy, by cutting regulations.

Build Back Better Act and the infrastructure bill are a new vision for the economy that are about investing in working people by actually ensuring that people can afford a middle class life, whether that's by lowering costs or by ensuring that their wages are going up. And I think for that reason, in the end, Democrats will find the votes to get both of these bills done. And I think that is going to be a real boon to Biden's politics as well and for Democrats moving forward.

JARED BLIKRE: Navin, we appreciate your insights and your time for stopping by. Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund president and executive director.