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Working Draft — Version 2, 2026 · Policy framework, not an introduced bill

Plan for ProsperityNonpartisan fiscal framework

Pillar C

Growth Acceleration

Invests in infrastructure, skills, early childhood, research, and supply-chain resilience so the denominator of debt-to-GDP rises. Costs are scored conservatively; dynamic growth effects are noted, not added.

+$2.1 trillion cost · 8 policies · $1.5T–$2.8T net cost before dynamic effects

How to read the indicators

  • Fiscal. 10-year base case. Navy = revenue; green = savings; gold = scored investment cost.
  • Timeline. Highlighted span on a 20-year bar. “+” means work continues past Year 20.
  • Middle class. Hold-harmless test for households $40,000–$150,000.
  • Planetary. Climate and resource effect, independent of the fiscal score.

C1 · Pillar C

Standalone page

National infrastructure modernization

10-year fiscal
+$500B costInvestment

$400B–$700B · Medium confidence

Implementation
Years 1–10
Y1Y10Y20
Middle class
Positive

Construction employment plus lower commute, utility, and logistics costs.

Planetary
Variable

Positive for resilience and clean-energy components; depends on project selection.

Description

Sustained investment in transportation, water, energy transmission, broadband, and resilience, prioritized by benefit-cost screening, with permitting reform that shortens timelines without weakening environmental protections, and public-private partnership architecture where appropriate.

Global precedent

The EU Connecting Europe Facility and higher sustained infrastructure investment shares in peer economies. ASCE report cards document the U.S. maintenance backlog.

Lead mechanism

Department of Transportation; Department of Energy; EPA; Army Corps of Engineers.

Bipartisan framing

Broadly bipartisan in principle. The IIJA (2021) is the recent domestic precedent.

C2 · Pillar C

Standalone page

Clean power and grid modernization

10-year fiscal
+$450B costInvestment

$300B–$600B · Medium confidence

Implementation
Years 1–10
Y1Y10Y20
Middle class
Positive

Lower long-run electricity costs and direct employment in installation and manufacturing.

Planetary
Strongly positive

The principal supply-side complement to the carbon fee.

Description

Sustained investment in transmission (the binding constraint on clean-energy deployment), storage, grid modernization, and accelerated permitting, including FERC process reform for interregional transmission planning.

Global precedent

Denmark’s wind transition, backed by transmission and policy stability, exceeded 50 percent renewable electricity. Germany’s Energiewende is the cautionary case: generation without adequate grid investment raised costs.

Lead mechanism

Department of Energy; FERC; Department of the Interior.

Bipartisan framing

Conservative case

Energy independence, manufacturing competitiveness, and grid resilience.

Progressive case

Climate-policy infrastructure.

C3 · Pillar C

Standalone page

Workforce reskilling and lifelong learning

10-year fiscal
+$500B costInvestment

$400B–$650B · Medium confidence

Implementation
Years 1–20
Y1Y10Y20
Middle class
Strongly positive

Universal eligibility, with particular benefit to mid-career workers facing displacement.

Planetary
Modestly positive

Enables transition into clean-energy and resilience occupations.

Description

A Federal Workforce Account for every adult: a $5,000 opening credit and $1,000 annual top-ups, usable at approved providers for labor-market-responsive courses, with employer co-investment and mid-career conversion programs. Individual choice, not a government training monopoly.

Global precedent

Singapore SkillsFuture; France’s Compte Personnel de Formation.

Lead mechanism

Department of Labor; Department of Education.

Bipartisan framing

Conservative case

Individual mobility and labor-market matching through personal accounts.

Progressive case

Workforce-development investment and protection against disruption.

C4 · Pillar C

Standalone page

Universal pre-K and early childhood

10-year fiscal
+$450B costInvestment

$350B–$600B · Medium confidence

Implementation
Years 1–7
Y1Y10Y20
Middle class
Strongly positive

About $8,000–$15,000 a year for households with children under five.

Planetary
Neutral

No material climate effect.

Description

Federal-state partnership for high-quality pre-K (ages 3–4) and expanded subsidized infant and toddler care for working families, with quality and access standards and multiple provider options. Complemented upstream by D2 (paid family leave and maternal continuity). Scoring for C4 is unchanged.

Global precedent

France’s écoles maternelles; Quebec’s low-fee childcare; Sweden’s universal ECEC — all associated with higher maternal labor-force participation. Heckman estimates ~13 percent annualized returns on high-quality early childhood investment.

Lead mechanism

HHS; Department of Education.

Bipartisan framing

Conservative case

Workforce participation, parental choice, and long-run fiscal returns.

Progressive case

Universal-access social investment with documented opportunity-equity benefits.

C5 · Pillar C

Standalone page

Skills-based legal immigration

10-year fiscal
+$350B revenueRevenue

$200B–$500B · Medium confidence

Implementation
Years 1–5
Y1Y10Y20
Middle class
Neutral to positive

High-skill inflows are associated with higher complementary domestic wages.

Planetary
Neutral

No material climate effect.

Description

Narrow modernization of employment-based legal pathways: per-country cap reform, STEM-graduate retention, and a points-based supplement. Version 2 operationalizes the points architecture through D9’s Canadian CRS-style scoring, backlog clearance, and family-reunification track. C5 aggregate scoring is unchanged.

Global precedent

Canada Express Entry (2015); Australia’s 2023 Migration Strategy; UK Global Talent Visa.

Lead mechanism

DHS (USCIS); Department of State; Senate and House Judiciary.

Bipartisan framing

Conservative case

Competitiveness, critical workforce gaps, and preference for legal high-skill pathways.

Progressive case

Evidence-based modernization of employment-based categories.

C6 · Pillar C

Standalone page

Federal R&D restoration

10-year fiscal
+$75B costInvestment

$50B–$100B · High confidence

Implementation
Years 1–10
Y1Y10Y20
Middle class
Positive

Medium- and long-term productivity gains.

Planetary
Positive

Includes clean-energy and climate-adaptation research.

Description

Raise federal R&D toward the postwar share of GDP (about 1.0–1.2 percent versus ~0.7 percent today), rebalanced toward applied research and translation: NSF, NIH, DARPA and ARPA-style programs, a permanent expanded R&D tax credit, and technology-transfer modernization.

Global precedent

South Korea and Israel sustain higher R&D intensity. The post-Sputnik U.S. mobilization is the domestic precedent. CHIPS and Science (2022) is the recent bipartisan statute.

Lead mechanism

OSTP; NSF; NIH; DARPA.

Bipartisan framing

Broadly bipartisan. CHIPS and Science Act (2022) is the recent precedent.

C7 · Pillar C

Standalone page

Small business capital and regional development

10-year fiscal
+$100B costInvestment

$80B–$150B · Medium-High confidence

Implementation
Years 1–10
Y1Y10Y20
Middle class
Positive in target regions

Neutral on average nationally; concentrated where capital access is thinnest.

Planetary
Neutral to positive

Depends on the sector mix in regional investments.

Description

Modernize SBA lending, expand CDFI infrastructure, continue Tech Hubs, complete rural broadband, and target small-business formation in distressed regions.

Global precedent

Germany’s Mittelstand support (KfW, Sparkassen); Italy’s industrial districts; UK regional growth deals.

Lead mechanism

SBA; Commerce (EDA); Treasury (CDFI Fund).

Bipartisan framing

Broadly bipartisan, especially when framed around regional and rural development.

C8 · Pillar C

Standalone page

Strategic manufacturing and supply-chain resilience

10-year fiscal
+$400B costInvestment

$300B–$600B · Medium confidence

Implementation
Years 1–10
Y1Y10Y20
Middle class
Positive in investment regions

Neutral on average; regional manufacturing employment is the main household channel.

Planetary
Variable

Effects depend on the sector mix (batteries and minerals vs. others).

Description

Continued federal support for semiconductors, batteries, critical minerals, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing, with sunset provisions and outcome metrics, friend-shoring with allies, strategic stockpiles, and supply-chain analytics.

Global precedent

EU Important Projects of Common European Interest; Japan’s METI coordination; South Korea’s strategic-sector policy (mixed documented effects).

Lead mechanism

Commerce; Defense; Energy.

Bipartisan framing

Broadly bipartisan in principle; controversy attaches to specific sector and project selection.

Figures in this framework are illustrative directional estimates derived from publicly available data and conventional Congressional Budget Office budget-window logic. They are not official CBO scores. Any provision adopted from this framework would require formal CBO scoring before legislative consideration. This document is a policy white paper, not an introduced bill.