Roads, bridges, jobs: Biden sells bipartisan deal
LA CROSSE, Wis. — President 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, Wis., 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 U.S. 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 leadfilled water pipes to trafficclogged roads — and stressed that a plan needs to be ambitious to not only improve Americans’ daily lives now but also to combat climate change.
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 bipartisan 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 allowed that “there will be more disagreements to be resolved, more compromises” to be made.
The process briefly fell into disarray late last week as Biden suggested the deal would be held up until he also received a separate package for infrastructure, jobs and education that would be determined solely by Democrats through the budget reconciliation process.
Biden said Saturday that this was not a veto threat, and by Sunday the package appeared back on track.
Some Republicans have questioned the wisdom of signing onto a bipartisan bill if it is linked to a partyline reconciliation bill that will contain a host of Democratic priorities. And GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who has often declared his steadfast opposition to the Biden agenda, has questioned the process.
The visit to La Crosse was indeed a bluecollar political play, with faux traffic construction signs that said “American Jobs Plan” dotted across the venue. The president has long connected with workingclass voters, while Wisconsin is one of the trio of Great Lakes states — along with Michigan and Pennsylvania — that Biden narrowly reclaimed for the Democrats after they were captured by Donald Trump in 2016.