‘Socialist Agenda’: Rep. Andy Barr Says Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Is Part Of An Agenda That Won’t Receive ‘Bipartisan Support At All’

Rep. Andy Barr said Wednesday that President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan is part of an agenda that won’t receive any bipartisan support.

“Unfortunately, Maria, I think this is window dressing, this is one more phase of a socialist agenda,” Barr said on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria.” The president introduced his $2 trillion American Jobs Plan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the end of March.

Biden’s plan allocates $10 billion towards “a new Civilian Climate Corps,” $25 billion for revamping and building child care facilities in “high need areas,” and $35 billion for investments in technological development to address climate change, according to a White House fact sheet.

The Kentucky Republican said the president’s agenda would raise taxes and added that Biden’s American Jobs Plan “spends 93% of the funds that they’re proposing on things other than roads and bridges.” Barr said Biden’s sweeping initiatives would use financial regulation to tear down the energy sector and described it as “an agenda of paying people to not work.”

“This is not an agenda that will earn bipartisan support at all,” Barr said.

Barr said that he hopes a bipartisan consensus can be reached over infrastructure, but the bill as it is would have to be trimmed due to ongoing concerns of inflation.

“In addition to that, we need to remember that there are trillions of dollars of private capital that can and could be deployed right now to rebuild our country,” Barr said. “Why are we borrowing money from China when we could deploy private capital to rebuild our country, do it more efficiently, effectively?”

“What Biden is proposing to the extent it even applies to real infrastructure would crowd out private sector investment that could be deployed much quicker and much more efficiently than the government could ever do,” he said.