How many years did the American People hear Donald Trump boast that he could get deals on trade, health care, immigration, and infrastructure?
Well, aside from a revised N.A.F.T.A. (where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats scored major concessions for American Labor,) the former Chief Executive Full of Himself never came close to finalizing deals on health care, immigration, and infrastructure that helped the American People and moved the country forward.
A person whose career centered in the real estate and construction arena, Trump's inability to fashion infrastructure legislation with the House and Senate was especially revealing and proof of his huckster persona.
Enter the Administration of President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and in less than eight months, they have accomplished what Donald Trump and Mike Pence could not in four years: secure an over trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure package in the United States Senate with a 69 to 30 vote.
While the bill still has to be passed in the House (which probably will happen as long as the Senate enacts the Democratic Budget Reconciliation Package,) for the first time in decades, the federal government is stepping up in a massive way to:
- Rebuild and modernize the nations, roads, bridges, waterways, railways, and airports.
- Get rid of lead water pipes and replace them.
- Expand high-speed internet broadband in neglected areas across the country.
- Invest in electric vehicle charging stations and electric school busses.
- Clean up and cap toxic sites and abandoned mines.
- Modernize the electric grid.
- Reconnect largely black communities separated by highway construction.
- Find ways to combat wildfires.
White House Reaction to the Senate Infrastructure Bill.
While the twice impeached former President was pouting on the sidelines and threatening reprisals on Republicans on voting for the bill he could not deliver while he was in office, the current occupant of the White House and Vice President basked in the great achievement accomplished today.
Vice President Harris commented:
"The president has been clear that every day, in every way, our administration will work on behalf of the American people. And this has been true as we delivered historic relief, through the American rescue plan, to families and small businesses. As we continue the fight to pass legislation to protect and strengthen the sacred right to vote. And as we continue the work to strengthen our nation’s care economy. And this is true today. Because today we move one step closer to making a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure. Today, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, in the United States Senate, passed the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs act..."
"...This afternoon I was proud to preside over the Senate vote, and I want to thank the senators who worked together to pass this bill. I also thank the members of the house who will now work to get this bill to the president’s desk. And first and foremost, we would not be here today were it not for the leadership of our president, Joe Biden. Mr. President, from the very start, you welcomed ideas, you welcomed debate, you welcomed Democrats and Independents and Republicans to meet with us in the Oval Office. In those meetings, I watched as you listened. In those meetings, you deliberated. You were determined to bring all sides together and to deliver real results for the people of our nation. And I know that even after this vote, our work will not stop. Even when you sign the Bill into law, our work will not stop. We will never stop working on behalf of the American people..."
President Biden then said:
"...First of all, I want to thank a group of senators, Democrats, and Republicans, for doing what they told me they would do. The death of this legislation was mildly premature, as reported. They said they’re willing to work in a bipartisan manner and I want to thank them for keeping their word. That’s just what they did. After years and years of infrastructure week, we’re on the cusp of an infrastructure decade that I truly believe will transform America..."
"...With overwhelming support from the United States Senate, 69 votes in the Senate, a vote margin bigger than when interstate highway system passed the Senate in 1956. Makes key investments that will one, create millions of good union jobs all across the country. In cities, small towns, rural and tribal communities, America, America. This is how we truly build back better. This Bill’s going to put people to work..."
"...Here’s another critical part of the bill. 90% of the jobs created don’t require a college degree. You’re tired of hearing me say it. I know. But this is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America..."
"...I want to thank those senators who worked so hard to bring this agreement together. I know it wasn’t easy. For the Republicans who supported this bill, you showed a lot of courage. I want to personally thank you for that. I’ve called most of you on the phone to do just that. You have, and no doubt you will, disagree with me on many issues. But where we can agree, we should. Here on this bill we proved that we can still come together to do big things, important things for the American people. For the Democrats who supported this bill, we can be proud of this unprecedented investments that are going to transform the nation and change millions of lives for the better...I know compromise is hard for both sides, but it’s important. It’s important. It’s necessary for democracy to be able to function. I want to thank everyone on both sides of the aisle for supporting this bill. Today, we proved that democracy can still work. A lot more work to do, but I want to thank Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, for supporting it, this bill. And I want to give special thanks to the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer. Your leadership, Chuck, in the Senate was masterful..."
Leading Arizona Democrats React to the Passage of the Senate Infrastructure Bill.
In a statement applauding the passage of the Infrastructure Plan, Arizona Democratic Party Chairperson Raquel Teran issued a statement that read:
[caption id="attachment_98634" align="alignright" width="186"]
Arizona Democratic Party Chair Raquel Teran[/caption]“Thanks to the tireless work of President Biden and Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, the bipartisan infrastructure package is on track to deliver unprecedented investments in local communities that will create a generation of good-paying jobs and grow our economy sustainably and equitably for years to come.
“As an experienced statesman and lifelong advocate of working families everywhere, President Biden brokered this historic deal in the first six months of his administration -- one that every Democrat and 19 Republicans supported.
“Voters will not forget that President Biden and Democrats delivered in six months what Donald Trump and congressional Republicans couldn’t in four years: Unprecedented funding to repair crumbling roads and bridges, access to clean drinking water for every Arizona household, and expanded broadband connectivity to even the most remote communities in Arizona. Promises made, promises kept.”
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, a strong supporter of modernizing Tucson's infrastructure posted:
https://twitter.com/TucsonRomero/status/1425210180845805570
Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, one of the major architects of the Bipartisan Infrastructure measure, posted:
https://twitter.com/kyrstensinema/status/1425095841900072965
Arizona's other Senator Mark Kelly also made several posts about the bipartisan infrastructure including:
https://twitter.com/SenMarkKelly/status/1425135202083360769
https://twitter.com/SenMarkKelly/status/1425135204973174784
Arizona Congressional District One House Representative and Member of the Problem Solvers Caucus Thomas O'Halleran also praised the legislation, commenting to the Chamber Business News on the topics of broadband, climate change, and bipartisanship.
[caption id="attachment_55461" align="alignright" width="166"]
Arizona Congressional District One House Represntative Tom O'Halleran[/caption]“Just as the federal government made a historic effort to provide electricity to every home in America nearly 100 years ago, this infrastructure package will work to ensure every household in Arizona has access to high-speed and reliable internet...This digital divide is even sharper on tribal lands, which can often lack basic, solid coverage, let alone broadband. Only half of the residents who live on tribal lands have fixed home internet service — half. That’s not acceptable.”
“We need to make sure we have good-paying jobs to support our families, what’s needed to support our children and their children, and address climate change in the process. I commend the president and his leadership and steady hand in helping the deal get across the finish line in a bipartisan way.”
“I know Democrats and Republicans alike have shown, either quietly or publicly, that there is an obligation to get this done. And I’m calling on my colleagues in the House of both parties to support the bill when it arrives in our chamber.”
Moving Forward: One Down-Two More to Go.
President Biden has proven he is a better deal maker than Donald Trump.
What remains to be seen is if he can compose a domestic legacy on a level like former Presidents Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society/War on Poverty.
The next major pieces of legislation to move on are the Democratic Budget Reconciliation Plan and Voting Rights Reform.
One will modernize and expand American social justice programs.
The other will protect American Democracy.
If the Biden/Harris Administration and their allies in Congress could utilize the same negotiating skills and have the same luck in passing those measures like they did the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Bill, then historians and commentators would be right to say we are at the dawn of a new American Renaissance.
But first, they have to pass the legislation.
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