With a large and bipartisan crowd at the White House, President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law. It is the biggest achievement of his presidency and a goal that became a punchline during the previous administration. Donald Trump had tried and repeatedly failed to pass an infrastructure bill. The Washington Post reports:
Vice President Harris and several lawmakers spoke ahead of Biden at the ceremony, including Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).
“This is what can happen when Republicans and Democrats decide we’re going to work together to get something done,” Portman said.
The Senate first passed the bill back in August by a 69-30 vote. The House passed it 228-210 earlier this month with 13 Republicans joining Democrats voting yes. Donald Trump has promised to find a primary opponent for all the Republicans who voted to pass the bill.
The White House also announced the appointment of Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans to administer the enormous program.
Now, Democrats need to explain to the American people what’s in the bill.
The first funds should arrive soon, according to the Wall Street Journal.
State transportation agencies will likely see the first infusion of highway funds from the infrastructure package by the beginning of December, said Jeff Davis, senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation, a think tank. That money will come via the regular funding formulas the Transportation Department uses to allocate money to states.