In a ceremony at the White House, US President Joe Biden signed the $ 1.2 trillion law that seeks to modernize the infrastructure of the world’s leading power. In his speech, the president stressed that this is a bipartisan achievement, after the US House of Representatives approved the package on November 5.
A crucial achievement for Joe Biden. The US president enacted his $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure plan in a ceremony on the White House lawn. The signing marks the end of extensive negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, which approved the plan in the House of Representatives in early November.
The president stressed that the new law is an achievement for a bipartisanism that rarely shows its face in Washington.
“Despite the cynics, Democrats and Republicans can unite and get results,” Biden said at the ceremony attended by representatives of his party and some Republicans.
“With this law, we focus on getting things done. I ran for president because the only way to move our country forward is through compromise and consensus, ”added Biden.
The package has been touted as an opportunity to improve and maintain the country’s “worn-out” infrastructure.
The project establishes, among others, about 120,000 million dollars for public transport, railways and electric vehicles; 65,000 million dollars to guarantee Internet access and 110,000 million dollars will be destined to the construction of roads.
In addition, it stipulates 550,000 million dollars in new investments in infrastructure for the next five years.
“This bipartisan law will modernize ports, airports, the freight rail … to make it easier for companies to bring goods to market and reduce bottlenecks in the supply chain,” the president celebrated.
However, to achieve consensus between the parties, Biden had to reduce his initial plan of 2.3 trillion. A sum that diminished their claims to invest in roads, bridges, water systems, broadband, ports, electric vehicles and the electricity grid.
For many, it was a decision in which the president sacrificed his promise of transformative change for his commitment to the “unity of the country.”
Ohio Senator Rob Portman, one of the Republicans who helped negotiate the package, celebrated the president’s willingness to reduce his initial proposal so that it could be endorsed in Congress.
“The approach from the center out should be the norm, not the exception,” said Portman.
On Monday, the president also signed an executive order before the ceremony that stipulates that priority be given to materials made in the United States in infrastructure projects.
Likewise, he formed a team of senior officials from his cabinet to ensure and guide the implementation of the law. On the other hand, Biden appointed former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to oversee the implementation of the infrastructure effort.
In the next few days, Biden is expected to tour the country to promote the plan. On Tuesday he will go to New Hampshire to visit a bridge that is on the state’s “red list” for repair and on Wednesday he will go to an electric car assembly plant in Detroit.
A journey in which the president will seek to face the decline in his popularity that responds, in large part, to rising inflation and criticism from various sectors for his handling of the pandemic.
The enactment of Biden’s infrastructure plan: an incomplete celebration
Despite Biden’s optimism about the enactment of his infrastructure plan, the celebration was incomplete. The president has failed to get his social spending plan approved by his own party.
The parallel plan seeks to establish a budget of $ 1.85 billion to modify the health system and address the climate emergency.
However, divisions between the more moderate and progressive among Congressional Democrats have led to a substantial downsizing of his initial initiative.
At the event, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, one of the Democrats who has put the most sticks in the wheels to said package, also spoke.
“Enforcing this legislation for the American people – this is what it looks like when elected leaders set aside differences, silence the noise and focus on delivering results on the issues that matter most to Americans,” he said.
The new $ 1.75 trillion bill maintains a $ 550 billion investment for environmental projects, the budget on free education for 3- to 4-year-olds, and some of its health care programs.
However, the elimination of some of his initial proposals such as paid maternity leave, lowering the prices of prescription drugs and a possible regularization program for immigrants, have been criticized by some of the most progressive in his party.
The negotiations continue and the question remains as to whether the approval will be fulfilled, before Thanksgiving, as promised by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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