Biden Hails Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan, Calling it a Blue-Collar Blueprint to Rebuild America.

Photo from Reuters

Saying "finally infrastructure week" and "we took a monumental step forward as a nation," President Joe Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, hailed the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan in the House of Representatives on Friday evening (November 5, 2021) after a deal was made between Progressive and Moderate Democrats on moving forward with the larger Build Back Better Plan.

Saying "we are just getting started," the President said on the passage of the infrastructure bill, "we did something that's long overdue, that long has been talked about in Washington but never actually been done." 

Mr. Biden discussed how this infrastructure legislation "represents a once in a lifetime investment that will create millions of jobs modernizing our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our broadband, all range of things. To turn the climate crisis into an opportunity and puts us on a path to win the economic competition for the 21st Century that we face with China and other large countries and the rest of the world."

Highlights of Mr. Biden's remarks.

In his remarks, President Biden pointed out how this legislation will result in:

• the creation of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the country.
• an increase in the production of solar panels, wind turbines, battery storage, and electric vehicles like school buses and automobiles.
• making water safer by removing lead pipes and increasing funding for environmental cleanup and remediation. 
• incentives for paying good wages and buying American-made supplies.
• increased funding for resilience programs to combat severe storms like hurricanes, wildfires, and blizzards.

Mr. Biden said he and Vice President Harris will host an official signing ceremony at the White House soon so both the Democrats and Republicans that supported the measure can attend.

The President also said he "was looking more forward to having shovels in the ground to begin rebuilding America."

Mr. Biden also spoke to the people who feel left behind in the Twenty-First Century economy, stating:

"And for all of you at home who feel left behind and forgotten in an economy that's changing so rapidly, this bill is for you. The vast majority of the thousands of jobs that will be created don't require a college degree. There'll be jobs in every part of the country. Red states. Blue states. Cities. Small towns. Rural communities. Tribal communities. This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and it is long overdue..."

Biden talks about Build Back Better.

He also praised the House for taking the first step in passing his Build Back Better Plan hopefully the week of November 15, saying "let me be clear. We will pass this in the House and we'll pass it in the Senate. The Build Back Better Act will be a once-in-a-generation investment in our people."

Mr. Biden reminded Americans that the fully paid for Build Back Better plan would:

• invest in elder home care.
• invest in child care.
• provide Universal Pre K for every three and four-year-old child.
• lowering prescription drug costs.
• tax cuts like the child tax credit for the middle and lower classes "so that folks have just a little...breathing room."
• cut child poverty in half.
• reduce the budget deficit in the long term.
• make sure the wealthiest individuals, families, and corporations "pay their fair share" in taxes.

The President also stated, "independent experts have concluded that these bills are the highest value investments that we can make to grow the economy."  and 17 Nobel Price economists who said these bills would ease inflation.

In concluding his remarks, Mr. Biden stressed that the need to revitalize America's infrastructure and early education programs was urgent, citing the United States' current ranking of 13th in infrastructure and 35th out of 37 in funding early childhood instruction.

He said, "we are now turning it around in a big way" and that the government proved to the American People that "we can deliver."

He finished by going back to the forgotten people in the country, stating:

"For much too long, working people in the middle class of this country have been dealt out of the promise of America...hard-working middle-class folks are the ones that built this country. They're the ones that built the middle class. They're the ones that built the backbone of the country. And what I said we had to do was build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out. Well, folks, that hadn't been the case. I'm so tired about trickle-down economic theory that I'm trickled out...We've got to give working folks a real chance. A chance...It's time to deal folks back in...these bills are designed to give people a fighting chance...bet on the American People. Give them a shot...That's what these plans do. They bet on average Americans. They believe in America. They believe in the limitless capacity of the American people...I truly believe that 50 years from now, folks are going to look back and say, this was the moment. This was the period. This year and the next couple of years when American decided to win the competition of the Twenty-First Century...Let's get to work. Let's get this done." 

Mr. Biden then took several questions from White House reporters on how the bill came across the finish line, the prospects of passing the Build Back Better Plan with or without Paid Family Leave, the increased pumping of oil, immigration payouts to illegal immigrants, the China Bill in the House of Representatives, the Iran Nuclear Deal, his election mandate ("I intend to be Joe Biden," not FDR,) and getting the country moving again.

Please click on the Washington Post article here and the White House fact sheet here to find more information on the passed Bipartisan infrastructure bill.