The American Petroleum Institute (API) issued the following statement from Senior Vice President for Policy, Economic and Regulatory Affairs, Frank Macchiarola, regarding the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan announced March 31.

“We support the administration’s goal of modernizing the nation’s infrastructure—including roads, bridges, rail and ports,” Macchiarola said in the statement. “We also welcome the administration’s efforts to address the risks of climate change by incentivizing innovation for hydrogen and CCUS as part of this infrastructure package.”

“At the same time, this proposal misses an opportunity to take an across-the-board approach to addressing all our infrastructure needs—including on modern pipelines,” he added.

On March 31, U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled a $2 trillion blueprint to modernize the nation's infrastructure. The plan includes hundreds of billions of dollars to boost the market for electric vehicles (EVs), renewable power and advanced clean energy technologies, while stripping away subsidies for fossil fuels.

API, a trade group representing oil and gas companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., announced its support on March 25 of a carbon-price policy to drive economy-wide solutions. However, responding to Biden’s infrastructure plan, API’s Macchiarola said the proposed legislation would “undermine the nation’s economic recovery and jeopardize good-paying jobs” by targeting specific industries with new taxes.

“It’s important to note that our industry receives no special tax treatment, and we will continue to advocate for a tax code that supports a level playing field for all economic sectors along with policies that sustain and grow the billions of dollars in government revenue that we help generate,” he continued in his statement.

Biden’s infrastructure bill, which still need to be approved by Congress, is largely aimed at traditional infrastructure goals like rebuilding roads and bridges. However, about a third, or $628 billion, is linked to climate, according to a report by Reuters citing an estimate by investment firm Raymond James.

The proposed bill is a part of Biden’s agenda to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050 in hopes of restoring the nation’s leadership in addressing global warming.

Reuters contributed to this article.

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