CT Construction Digest Tuesday November 16, 2021
By Seung Min Kim Felicia SonmezAmy B Wang
President Biden on Monday signed a sweeping $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill to upgrade the nation’s roads, bridges, water systems and broadband, touting the measure’s passage as evidence for his insistence that bipartisanship can work even in a bitterly polarized time.
“Here in Washington, we’ve heard countless speeches, promises and white papers from experts — but today, we’re finally getting this done,” Biden said, adding, “The bill I’m about to sign into law is proof that despite the cynics, Democrats and Republicans can come together and deliver results.”
The event was carefully choreographed to back up that point, with congressional Republicans who helped negotiate the bill sprinkled throughout the hundreds of seats. GOP leaders including Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah), Bill Cassidy (La.) and Susan Collins (Maine) mingled before the event.
The chief Republican negotiator on the bill — Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio) — was tapped for a prime speaking spot ahead of Biden’s remarks. “This is what can happen when Republicans and Democrats decide we’re going to work together to get something done,” Portman said.
But the limits of bipartisanship were starkly evident. While Biden thanked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for supporting the bill, McConnell was notably absent from the ceremony.
Democrats gleefully noted that Biden’s predecessor, President Donald Trump, had failed to deliver an infrastructure bill. And Vice President Harris urged passage of a separate, nearly $2 trillion measure that would invest in climate priorities and the social safety net. That legislation is opposed by all Republicans in Congress.
“This legislation — as significant as it is, as historic as it is — is part one of two,” Harris said. “The work of building a more perfect union did not end with the railroad or the interstate, and it will not end now.”
Still, Biden appeared almost giddy as more than 800 lawmakers, governors, mayors, union members and others gathered on the South Lawn of the White House. The president referred to quarrels among Democrats that have brought down his approval ratings, seeking to refocus attention on the fact that he had delivered results.
“I know you’re tired of the bickering in Washington, frustrated by the negativity, and you just want us to . . . focus on your needs, your concerns,” Biden said.
The ceremony, while it had the look of an old-fashioned White House event, took place at a turbulent moment. Even as Biden launches a tour to sell the benefits of the infrastructure package, Trump and his supporters are directing their rage at the Republicans who voted for it, in large part because they gave Biden a political win.
Some of the Republicans who voted for the bill opted not to attend. Trump has said Republicans who voted for the measure — 19 senators and 13 House members — should be “ashamed of themselves” for “helping the Democrats.”
Several House Republicans who backed the legislation have been threatened and harassed. Last week, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) released the audio of an expletive-filled phone call in which a man in South Carolina called him a “traitor” and said he hopes the congressman, his staff members and his entire family die.
Other Republican lawmakers — notably Trump loyalist Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Madison Cawthorn (N.C.) — have joined in criticism and attacks against their colleagues who backed the bill.
Greene, a House freshman who has previously accosted fellow members at the Capitol, said before the bill’s passage that any House Republican who backed the measure would be “a traitor to our party, a traitor to their voters and a traitor to our donors.”
After the vote, Greene tweeted the names and phone numbers of the 13 Republicans who voted in favor of the bill, which she described as “Joe Biden’s Communist takeover of America.”
Those who attended the ceremony tried to make the case that bipartisanship was nevertheless alive and well. Portman, for his part, sought to bridge the gap by giving Trump credit.
“By making infrastructure a real priority in his administration, President Trump furthered the discussion and helped Republicans like me think differently about the positive impact of investment in core infrastructure,” he said.
But he also pushed back — mildly — against those attacking the Republicans who helped craft the bill. “Finding common ground to advance the interests of the American people should be rewarded, not attacked,” Portman said. Some House Democrats grumbled when Portman criticized the social spending measure.
In her remarks, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), the main Democratic author of the bill, praised Collins and Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), calling them “the Wonder Women of our group, always focused on the practical outcomes.” (Shortly after negotiations over the bill were successfully concluded, Sinema gifted stemless wine glasses emblazoned with the Wonder Woman symbol to the other female negotiators.)
Biden avoided mention of the vitriol that Trump and his supporters have aimed at the Republicans who voted for the infrastructure bill. At one point, he praised Portman as a “hell of a good guy,” then quipped: “I’m not hurting you, Rob, because I know you’re not running again.” Portman is retiring from the Senate next year.
The infrastructure package is in some ways a throwback to the measures that Congress used to pass that gave lawmakers of both parties projects they could boast about back home.
Within moments of the signing, Republicans and Democrats issued news releases detailing the projects that will be built in their home states and districts. Collins said the bill would provide $225 million to Maine for bridge construction, maintenance and repair.
The Senate passed the infrastructure bill in August on a bipartisan 69-to-30 vote, but the measure languished in the House for months, as liberal lawmakers sought to use their leverage to advance Biden’s larger climate and social spending bill.
The bill finally passed the House earlier this month on a 228-to-206 vote, with 13 Republicans joining with most Democrats in voting “yes.” The House is aiming to pass the separate “Build Back Better” measure this week, although passage in the Senate could take far longer.
Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Biden “invited everybody who supported it, because he felt that was the right thing to do.” She added, “Whether people come or not, that’s their choice.”
Biden announced he had named former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu to coordinate the infrastructure plan’s implementation, ensuing that the money is spent with a minimum of waste.
Although many of the audience members came from Capitol Hill, several others — including governors — came from across the country. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) was in attendance, as were Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, both Republicans.
McConnell, who drew Trump’s wrath by voting for the bill, was the most notable absence. The reason, he told a Kentucky radio station last week, was “other things I’ve got to do.”
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Gov. Ned Lamont along with other Connecticut lawmakers traveled to Washington, D.C. for an important ceremony Monday, which will usher in billions of dollars for our state.
President Joe Biden signed his $1 trillion infrastructure deal into law Monday on the White House lawn.
“Now we are emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and we will build an economy for the 21st century,” said President Biden.
RELATED: Dems end deadlock, House sends Pres. Biden infrastructure bill
The $1.2 trillion plan – which passed the House last week – will bring more than $5 billion in investments to Connecticut. More than half a billion for bridge replacement and repairs, and $3.5 billion for highways.
Never before in state history has Connecticut received such a substantial amount of money from Washington D.C.
“What this bill means biggest infrastructure investment since Dwight Eisenhower,” said Gov. Lamont. “It will speed up the commute anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour. It’s gonna take us five years.”
Reconstructing the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in New London and Groton, updating the 114-year-old Amtrak bridge in Old Saybrook, and the 108-year-old Swing Bridge in Haddam are just a few of the projects that will get underway.
Twenty million dollars will go toward working on bottlenecks on I-84 and I-91 in Hartford as well as on I-91 and I-691 in Meriden will also be a priority, along with widening I-84 in Danbury.
Other projects funded include building more electric vehicle charging stations, expanding internet access, and investments in clean water and airports.
Also included, $30 billion for the multi-state northeast rail corridor project.
During a recent taping of “This Week in Connecticut,” with Dennis House, News 8’s Chief Political Correspondent Jodi Latina asked Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, “Does this mean your administration will take tolls off the table?” At the time, Bysiewicz would not definitively say they were.
However, on Monday, Gov. Lamont told us, “No, that door is closed, Jodi. We needed that money in order to pay our part for transportation. Now we’ve got other ways to pay for transportation. So we’re not gonna be doing tolls. Period, dead stop.”
Governor Lamont also said the state’s gas tax revenues are coming in strong. Lamont added they will more than cover the 20 percent match the state is required to give the federal government as it leverages the infrastructure funding each year for the next five years.
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. Support for Pres. Biden has taken a hit amid rising inflation and the inability to fully shake the public health and economic risks from COVID-19.
A smattering of Republican lawmakers were on hand for what might be one of 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,” Biden said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.