‘America is moving again’
In Charlotte, Vice President Kamala Harris touts infrastructure spending
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Vice President Kamala Harris visited Charlotte on Thursday to promote a newly approved infrastructure spending plan — a key piece of legislation for President Joe Biden’s administration and one that will bring billions to North Carolina.
Her visit also aimed to drum up support for the administration’s next big priority: its $1.85 billion social policy bill. That would focus on reducing the cost of health care, child care and address climate change, among other things.
It faces a tough road in the Senate, which is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. While the infrastructure package received some bipartisan support, the social spending bill appears to face tougher opposition. It passed the House last month.
Harris celebrated the passage of the infrastructure bill while speaking at Charlotte Area Transit System’s garage and electric vehicle hub in South End.
“People rely on public transit for all kinds of reasons — to get groceries, to get to school on time, to get to work on time, to get to church on time,” she said. “A bus stop within walking distance can make all the difference, versus a bus stop you have to walk for half an hour to get to.”
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg also spoke during the event, saying the bill will help fund more climate-friendly public transportation systems in Charlotte that can connect communities with limited access to good-paying jobs.
Among the projects that could receive funding in North Carolina are $7.2 billion for highways; $457 million for bridges; $911 million for public transit; and $100 million for broadband Internet.
Several Charlotte City Council members, Mecklenburg
County commissioners and other politicians attended, including Mayor Vi Lyles, Gov. Roy Cooper and U.S. Rep. Alma Adams.
Cooper praised Biden’s administration for knowing “how to work in a bipartisan way.”
“At the beginning of the last administration, in 2017, we were told it was coming. It never did — until now,” Cooper said.
Within Charlotte, Adams said the money could be used for the city’s Silver Line light rail, to purchase more electric-power buses, and to upgrade I-85 and I-77. The state is home to 1,460 bridges and over 3,116 miles of highway that are in poor condition, according to a memo from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The package, called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, received some bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. North Carolina Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr both voted for the package, though no GOP member of the state’s House delegation did.
“Because of their work, because of our work together, America is moving again,” Harris said. “Ultimately, that’s what infrastructure is all about — getting people moving.”
Republicans opposed to the bill argued that its scope is financially irresponsible and that it will further increase inflation.
On the Build Back Better proposed social policy changes and spending, Republicans are stepping up criticism, saying such legislation will further national debt woes. Alex Nolley, the communications director for the North Carolina chapter of the Republican National Committee, called the bill “disrespectful and unproductive for the American people.”