President hits the road to tout bipartisan deal
President looks to sell voters on the infrastructure plan
President Joe Biden declared there is an urgent need for a “generational investment” in the nation’s infrastructure, as he looked to sell voters Tuesday on the economic benefits of the $973 billion bipartisan package that still faces an uncertain future in Congress.
Biden traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin, population 52,000, and toured its public transit center, highlighting projects — including hybrid buses and road repair equipment — that would receive additional funding from the infrastructure bill. He argued that the package, which is held together in large part by the promise of millions of new jobs, is a way for the United States to assert both the principles of democracy and the economic might that can come from dramatic investments in the country’s future.
“This deal isn’t just the sum of its parts. It’s a signal to ourselves, and to the world, that American democracy can come through and deliver for all our people,” said Biden. “America has always been propelled into the future by landmark investments.”
He said there is a critical need to improve crumbling infrastructure — from overwhelmed power grids to lead-filled water pipes — and stressed that a plan needs to be ambitious to not only improve Americans’ daily lives now but also to combat the growing challenges of climate change. “We’re not just tinkering around the edges,” Biden said.
He also made his pitch in personal terms, reminiscing about driving a bus during law school and noting the 1972 traffic accident that killed his first wife and daughter, as he called for improvements to make the nation’s roads safer.
The visit to Wisconsin was the beginning of what the White House has declared would be a series of presidential trips to sell the bill — and to reassure the nervous Republicans who helped craft it.
“I’m going to be out there making the case for the American people until this job is done, until we bring this bipartisan bill home,” said the president, though he conceded “there will be more disagreements to be resolved, more compromises” to be made.