President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law Monday afternoon, saying that it is “truly historic.”
“I ran for president believing it was time to rebuild the backbone of this nation, which I characterize as working people in the middle class,” Biden declared to a crowd of about 800 people. “They are the ones who built the country. And to rebuild the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, this law delivers on that long overdue promise in my view. It creates better jobs for millions of Americans.”
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed the House on November 5. Six Democrats voted against the bill, but the 13 Republican “yes” votes pushed the bill through. The bipartisan infrastructure bill faced months of delays due to Democratic infighting over the other part of Biden’s Build Back Better bill.
Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Republican Sen. Rob Portman and Vice President Kamala Harris were among those who spoke before Biden at the bill signing. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers were in attendance as well as “governors, mayors, state and local elected officials, labor leaders, business leaders and other stakeholders,” according to the White House.
“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,” Biden said.
“I know you’re tired of the bickering in Washington,” the president went on. “Frustrated by the negativity and you just want us to use and focus on your needs, your concerns and the conversations that are taking place at your kitchen table.”
“I have a lot of concerns, let’s put it that way,” Manchin said earlier in November. “They’re working off the House bill. That’s not going to be the bill I work off of.”
An ABC-Washington Post poll released Sunday shows that Biden has a 41% approval rating. The poll also found that 63% of those polled felt Biden has achieved “not very much” or “little or nothing” so far in his presidency – despite the bipartisan infrastructure bill passing Congress.
Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill focuses on improving roads, bridges, ports, waterways, broadband access and more.
