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.”
