Energy Sec. Granholm: Definition of Infrastructure ‘Evolves to Meet the American People’s Aspirations’

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday called infrastructure” something that “evolves to meet the American people’s aspirations” when questioned about President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure package.

Granholm said, “What is infrastructure? Historically, it’s been: What makes the economy move? What is it that we all need to ensure that we, as citizens, are productive? So, we need roads. We need bridges. We need transmission. You need lights in people’s homes and offices. You need to make sure that people can actually go to work if they have an aging parent or a child.”

She continued, “As the president said this week, that infrastructure evolves to meet the American people’s aspirations. And it’s not static. In 1990, we wouldn’t have thought that broadband was infrastructure because it wasn’t on the scene yet. But we, of course, need broadband in every pocket of the country.

She added, “We don’t want to use past definitions of infrastructure when we are moving into the future and, by the way, when other countries are investing significantly in their infrastructure to overcome us. Research and development, that’s also part of a manufacturing infrastructure that we have seen go. We’re at a 70-year low in terms of manufacturing jobs as a percentage of the economy.”

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