Biden welcomes approval of the Infrastructure Act and will sign it soon

And US President Joe Biden celebrated at the White House the approval of the infrastructure bill, and said he would sign it “soon” in a ceremony to which he will invite Democratic and Republican lawmakers who voted for it.

Apparently in a good mood, the president gave a short speech and then answered some reporters’ questions.

Said Biden, who considered that the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill puts the United States on the path to “winning the economic recovery of the twenty-first century.”

He asserted that such laws were only seen “once in a generation,” and promised that they would be of great benefit to the middle class.

“To all those who feel left behind at home, forgotten in a rapidly changing economy. This law is for you,” promised Biden, who emphasized that the project would create thousands of jobs and help bring down inflation, currently 5.4%, the worst. 13 years ago.

“This is a working-class project to rebuild the United States and should have been approved long ago,” the president stressed.

The legislation, which was passed by the US Senate in August, was supported by the House of Representatives by 228 to 206 and after a dramatic day in the legislature due to conflicts within the Democratic Party.

Although the Democrats have a majority in the House, six members of Congress, the most progressive, opposed the text, necessitating the support of 13 Republicans.

The rift between Democrats stems from the struggle between the two parties to agree on its priorities.

The infrastructure bill was frozen for months because progressives wanted to vote on it at the same time as Biden’s $1.75 trillion social plan.

After a day of strife, most progressives agreed to agree to the infrastructure plan in exchange for centrists vowing to vote on Biden’s social spending plan by November 15.

The president himself said this Saturday that he was “confident” that this plan would end in approval, although he did not specify a date and did not dare to risk that it would contain that package.

Biden needed to win this week after the Democratic electoral meltdown in last Tuesday’s election, in which they lost Virginia.

When asked about it, Biden acknowledged that the election results moved Democrats into action, because voters sent a very clear message: “Do something, it’s time to do something, stop talking and do something,” the president said.

The infrastructure law passed last night is worth $1.2 trillion, but only provides for about $550 billion in new spending which is well below the initial $2.25 trillion package the president introduced in March.

However, it represents one of the most important investments in the country’s infrastructure since the so-called Great Recession of 2008.