Pittsburgh preps for POTUS

President Biden is unveiling his expansive infrastructure plan in the Steel City this afternoon. The proposal, which carries an initial $2 trillion price tag, would translate into 20,000 miles of rebuilt roads, repairs to the 10 most economically important bridges in the country, the elimination of lead pipes and service lines from the nation's water supplies, and a long list of other projects intended to create millions of jobs and strengthen American competitiveness.

• — Called the "American Jobs Plan," the proposal includes a wide range of physical infrastructure projects, covering the transportation, broadband, energy, and housing sectors, as well as efforts to jump-start advanced manufacturing and other industries key to the U.S.'s competition with China. It also tackles climate change by hastening the shift to new, cleaner energy sources.
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• — Promoting racial and social equity. The proposal would use federal spending to address longstanding social and economic challenges in a way not seen in half a century. If approved, the spending in the plan would return government investment in research and infrastructure, as a share of the economy, to its highest levels since the 1960s.
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• — While infrastructure has always had bipartisan appeal, Biden's plan is expected to draw intense Republican opposition, for its size and its reliance on corporate tax increases to fund it. The tax increases would take 15 years to fully offset the cost of the spending programs. —The New York Times

More good news on the vaccine front

Pfizer announced today that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in children as young as 12, a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before they head back to school in the fall. Most COVID-19 vaccines currently being rolled out are only authorized for ages 16 and up, as adults face significantly higher risk from the virus. However, vaccinating people of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic and to helping schools return to normal after a year of disruption. —Associated Press

MORE: What's behind China and Russia's vaccine diplomacy? —The Atlantic

Stevenson: Pandemic origins are just the tip of the diplomatic iceberg in China

"Amid short-term questions about how to handle the pandemic and whether the Chinese government is being transparent about what happened in the early days of the virus' spread, President Biden and his administration are in the early stages of confronting a much bigger problem: what to do about a world power that is a threat to American dominance, not just in the abstract way it has been for several decades, but immediately." —Peter Stevenson in The Washington Post

Peter Stevenson writes "The 5-Minute Fix" newsletter and covers national and state politics at The Washington Post.

MORE: U.S. joins 13 countries in raising concerns with data in WHO team's virus report —The Hill

Gaetz in hot water

There may be a good reason why Rep. Matt Gaetz rails about "cancel culture"—he might get canceled himself if a Justice Department investigation of the congressman bears fruit. The DOJ is examining whether the Florida Republican had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him, violating federal sex trafficking laws. The probe, which was opened under former Attorney General Bill Barr, is part of a broader investigation into a Gaetz political ally named Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last summer on an array of charges, including sex trafficking of a child. Stay tuned. —The New York Times

MORE: Matt Gaetz eyes early retirement to take job at Newsmax —Axios

Ashford: Social media isn't the only disinfo factory

"Government proposals to reform Section 230 or break technology companies into several smaller companies will not solve the misinformation problem. But increased fact-checking by independent bodies and mandates to present more reliable perspectives will help. Because of the reinforcing influence one medium has on another, reforms must include both the platform and the broadcast industries." —Nicholas Ashford in The New York Times

Nicholas Ashford is the director of the technology and law program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

MORE: Holt says news media should not provide 'an open platform for misinformation' —DEADLINE

Focus on voting reform

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law today the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, a measure that fills some of the gaps in voter protections created when the Supreme Court gutted federal voting rights oversight in 2013. The new law requires state election officials to get prior approval—or preclearance—before making changes to voting rules, a provision that aims to blunt would-be voter suppression efforts. "At a time when voting rights are under attack across our country, Virginia is expanding access to the ballot box, not restricting it," Northam said. —The Hill

• — Kentucky. Bipartisanship reigns supreme in the Bluegrass State. The state's General Assembly overwhelmingly approved legislation on Monday night that will make three days of widespread early voting a regular part of the state's future elections and expand access to the ballot in other ways while also instituting new security measures. Next stop is Gov. Andy Beshear's desk. —The Louisville Courier-Journal
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• — New Jersey. Yesterday, New Jersey became the latest state to enact a law allowing early in-person voting, with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signing the legislation alongside Georgia's Stacey Abrams. Murphy cast the legislation as a contrast to "states across our nation (turning) back the clock to Jim Crow-era voter suppression laws"—a reference to new restrictive voting laws being passed or proposed in Georgia and other states. —Associated Press
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• — North Carolina. A proposal in the North Carolina House seeks to amend the state's constitution to strip redistricting power from politicians and transfer it to an independent commission. Under the Fair Maps Act, the commission, comprised of an equal number of Democrats, Republicans, and independents, would hold public hearings to allow citizen participation in the drawing of district lines. The legislature would have no say in the finalized map. —Indy Week

Sargent: Hice's anti-democratic reasons for running for state office

"The Georgia law transfers some authority over county election machinery from the secretary of state to an official selected by a majority of state legislators, effectively giving the party in control of the legislature more influence over that machinery. But the secretary of state still retains critical power over election results. ... We don't have to imagine what [Rep. Jody] Hice would do with that power. Trump has already told us: Hice would all but certainly use it to try to overturn results that are not to Georgia Republicans' liking." —Greg Sargent in The Washington Post

Greg Sargent is a columnist at The Washington Post and the author of "An Uncivil War: Taking Back Our Democracy in an Age of Trumpian Disinformation and Thunderdome Politics."

MORE: David Atkins: By punishing Raffensperger, the GOP moves one step closer to nullifying democracy —Washington Monthly

Is there a "moderate" wing of the GOP? How about a "wing-tip" instead? A mere handful of lucid members committed to democracy doesn't constitute a "wing." On second thought, really, is there a "Republican Party"? Seems mainly to be a loony-bin Trump cult. And it seems to me that "moderation" for the Republican Party merely means "we'll just have to settle with grabbing power by voter disenfranchisement and gerrymandering, since our little coup d'etat failed." —Barry L., Massachusetts

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