Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview published Wednesday that “a lot” of President Joe Biden’s “infrastructure” spending plan “revolves around our energy infrastructure and our vehicle electrification future.”
In an interview with Grist, Buttigieg indicated the plan, which is being framed as an infrastructure proposal — traditionally considered to be roads, bridges, and other means of transportation — is about many other things than that.
“More broadly I’d say it’s very important that we create alternatives to how people move around. It’s not just making sure vehicles are electric,” Buttigieg said.
“It’s making sure people have alternatives to bringing two tons of metal along with them everywhere they go, if it makes more sense for them to get around on two wheels or on public transit,” the transportation secretary added.
“So we’re trying to make sure that we expand access to transit, and are doubling resources, in fact, across communities large and small, to have a better rail system in this country — which Americans have been wanting for a long time — and make sure we have a grid to back it up.”
Buttigieg indicated the Biden administration is broadening the traditional definition of “infrastructure.”
“To me, infrastructure is the foundation that makes it possible for Americans to thrive. And that includes things like roads and bridges, but it also includes things like pipes,” Buttigieg told Grist.
“If you can’t count on a glass of clean, safe drinking water, you’re not free. And you’re not able to live a life of your choosing,” he said.
“So, fixing lead pipes, as the president is proposing, is absolutely an infrastructure investment — and, by the way, one of the best investments we can make in future generations.”
Buttigieg argued he does not expect “an opportunity like this to come along again” and described it as “this perfect storm if you will, of public impatience, bipartisan interest, demonstrated need, economic conditions, and a very supportive president to actually get something big done.”
On Monday, the left-wing “Young Turks” program blasted Buttigieg as host Ana Kasparian derided the secretary — Biden’s chief pitchman for the proposal — as “inexperienced and clownish.”
“You have this inexperienced former mayor of South Bend, Indiana bungling interviews on Fox (News) … because he’s not the right person for that role,” Kasparian said.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays — download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Parler.
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