US President Joe Biden has signed his one trillion dollar infrastructure deal into law on the White House lawn, hailing it as an example of what bipartisanship can achieve.
The president hopes to use the law to build back his popularity and says it will deliver jobs, clean water, high-speed internet and a clean energy future.
It’s official, folks: I’ve signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal into law.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 15, 2021
Support for Mr Biden has taken a hit amid rising inflation and the inability to fully shake the public health and economic risks from Covid-19.
A few Republican politicians were on hand for what might be one the last celebratory displays of bipartisanship ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
“My message to the American people is this: America is moving again and your life is going to change for the better,” Mr Biden said.
With the bipartisan deal, the president had to choose between his promise of fostering national unity and a commitment to transformative change. The final measure whittled down much of his initial vision for infrastructure.
Yet the administration hopes to sell the new law as a success that bridged partisan divides and will elevate the country with clean drinking water, high-speed internet and a shift away from fossil fuels.
“Folks, too often in Washington, the reason we didn’t get things done is because we insisted on getting everything we want. Everything,” Mr Biden said.
“With this law, we focused on getting things done. I ran for president because the only way to move our country forward in my view was through compromise and consensus.”
Mr Biden will travel outside Washington to sell the plan more broadly in coming days.
He intends 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, while other officials also fan out across the country.
The president went to the Port of Baltimore last week to highlight how the supply chain investments from the law could limit inflation and strengthen supply chains, a key concern of voters who are dealing with higher prices.
“We see this as is an opportunity because we know that the president’s agenda is quite popular,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said before the signing.
The outreach to voters can move “beyond the legislative process to talk about how this is going to help them. And we’re hoping that’s going to have an impact.”
Mr Biden held off on signing the hard-fought infrastructure deal after it passed on November 5 until legislators would be back from a congressional recess and could join in a splashy bipartisan event.
On Sunday night before the signing, the White House announced Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor, would help manage and coordinate the implementation of the infrastructure spending.
The gathering on Monday on the White House lawn was uniquely upbeat with a brass band and peppy speeches, a contrast to the drama and tensions when the fate of the package was in doubt for several months.
The speakers lauded the measure for creating jobs, combating inflation and responding to the needs of voters.
