Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder and CEO of Amazon, which is under scrutiny for its anti-union campaign, said Tuesday that the company supports President Joe Biden's focus on infrastructure and raising corporate taxes.
"We support the Biden Administration's focus on making bold investments in American infrastructure. Both Democrats and Republicans have supported infrastructure in the past and it's the right time to work together to make this happen," Bezos said in a statement.
"We recognize this investment will require concessions from all sides — both on the specifics of what's included as well as how it gets paid for (we're supportive of a rise in the corporate tax rate). We look forward to Congress and the Administration coming together to find the right, balanced solution that maintains or enhances U.S. competitiveness."
Biden introduced his $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, called the American Jobs Plan, last month at a carpenters training facility in Pittsburgh. The sweeping plan would create millions of jobs, rebuild 20,000 miles of roads, expand access to clean water and broadband and invest in care for the elderly, Biden said.
The proposal, which would be spent out over eight years, would be paid for over 15 years by raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent, ending the Trump-era tax cuts.
Biden has urged Congress to act on his proposal, arguing that failing to make the investments would weaken the middle class and leave the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage abroad.
Lawmakers appear to be at loggerheads. Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, said he opposes the bill's provision to raise the corporate tax rate to 28 percent to pay for infrastructure; he said he instead prefers a 25 percent rate. Manchin said a handful of other Democrats agree with him.
The support of Amazon, the country's second-largest employer, could move the needle. However, the company faces backlash over its attempts to crush unionizing efforts at its warehouses and its Whole Foods grocery stores.
Biden has come out in support of worker unionization, including efforts in Alabama, where Amazon workers in Bessemer are conducting a precedent-setting vote to form a union.
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