Skip to main content
Politics

Biden signs infrastructure bill, Build Back Better vote could happen this week

Share

President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law Monday, 10 days after the bill passed in the house, and months after it passed in the Senate. The signing, shown in the video above, came in a ceremony on the White House lawn. The ceremony included top congressional officials, some of the members of Congress who negotiated the deal, governors and mayors on both sides of the aisle, and labor and business leaders.

“The approach from the center out should be the norm, not the exception,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who help negotiate the now-law, said at the ceremony. The bill got the supports of 19 Republican Senators.

Ahead of the signing, Biden issued an executive order regarding the implementation of the infrastructure law. He also appointed former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu as senior advisor responsible for coordinating the implementation.

“I am thankful to the President and honored to be tasked with coordinating the largest infrastructure investment in generations,” Mitch Landrieu said, according to a White House news release. “Our work will require strong partnerships across the government and with state and local leaders, business and labor to create good-paying jobs and rebuild America for the middle class.”

Biden had delayed the signing of the infrastructure bill until Congress returned to Washington from their recess. In the meantime, Biden touted the passing of the bill at the Port of Baltimore last week. He intends to go to New Hampshire on Tuesday to visit a bridge on the state’s “red list” for repair, and he will go to Detroit on Wednesday for a stop at General Motors’ electric vehicle assembly plant.

“My message to the American people is this: America is moving again and your life is going to change for the better,” Biden said at the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the House could vote on the Build Back Better Act as soon as this week. Democrats had planned on voting on the act along with the bipartisan infrastructure bill. However, in order to get centrist Democrats to vote for the infrastructure bill, a vote on the Build Back Better Act was delayed until Congressional Budget Office confirms that the bill is fully paid for.

Over the weekend, Biden’s top economic adviser expressed confidence that the Build Back Better Act will quickly pass. He said approval couldn’t come at a more urgent time as prices of consumer goods spike.

“Inflation is high right now. And it is affecting consumers in their pocketbook and also in their outlook for the economy,” National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said. “This, more than anything, will go at the costs that Americans face.”

Tags:

Joe Biden, U.S. President: “The world has changed. We have to be ready. My fellow Americans today I want you to know we hear you and we see you. The bill I’m about to sign into law is proof that despite the cynics, Democrats and Republicans can come together and deliver results. We can do this. We can deliver real results for real people we see in ways that really matter each and every day to each person out there, and we’re taking a monumental step forward to build back better as a nation.”

“Here in Washington, we’ve heard countless speeches and promises, white papers from experts. But today we’re finally getting this done. So my message to the American people is this: America is moving again and your life is going to change for the better.”

“Because of this law, next year will be the first year in 20 years American infrastructure investment will grow faster than China’s. We will once again have the best roads, bridges, ports and airports over the next decade. It will lead the world into the 21st century with modern cars and trucks and transit systems. We’re going to do this by building again and moving again. Folks, too often in Washington, the reason we didn’t get things done is because we insisted on getting everything we wanted, everything. With this law, we focused on getting things done. I ran for president because the only way to move this country forward, in my view, was through compromise and consensus. That’s how the system works. That’s American democracy. And I’m going to be signing a law that is truly consequential because we made our democracy deliver for the American people. We compromised. We reached a consensus, that’s necessary.”

“Given half a chance, the American people have never, ever, ever let this nation down, and it’s our job to give our people that chance. It’s our job to come together and make sure we remain a nation of possibilities. As I look out in this crowd today, I see Democrats and Republicans, national leaders, local leaders, all elected officials, labor leaders, business leaders and most of all, I see fellow Americans. I see America. Let’s remember this day. Let’s remember we can come together. Most of all, let’s remember what we’ve got done for the American people when we do come together. I truly believe that 50 years from now, historians will look back at this moment and say, that’s the moment America began to win the competition of the 21st century. So with confidence, optimism, with vision and faith in each other, let’s believe in possibilities. Let’s believe in one another and let’s believe in America.”