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“The death of this legislation was slightly premature,” Biden said in a White House speech Tuesday afternoon. “After years and years of ‘Infrastructure Week’ we are on the cusp of a decade of infrastructure that I truly believe will transform America.”
Biden, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, said he “never believed” critics who called his calls to implement policies in a bipartisan fashion “a relic from an earlier age.” .
The president thanked senators on both sides of the aisle for working together to pass the bill, saying, “I know it was not easy for the Republicans who supported this bill. You have shown a lot of courage and I personally want to thank you. for that, and I’ve called most of you on the phone to do just that. ”
Among other priorities, the bill also includes $ 55 billion for hydraulic infrastructure, of which $ 15 billion will be devoted to replacing lead pipes.
The bill was passed in the Senate by a large bipartisan majority of 69-30, with 19 Republicans voting for the bill. Now the legislation is heading towards the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The timing of the vote in the House is uncertain, but they are unlikely to do so until the fall.
“Everyone, from unions to business leaders to economists on the left, right and center, believe that the public investment contained in this bill will generate more jobs, higher productivity, higher growth for our economy in the long run, ”he said.
Biden’s allies said the budget office’s score did not account for all of the ways the bill offsets costs.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has signaled that the Senate-backed bill will not be resumed in the House until a larger separate package is passed without GOP votes as part of the process. budget reconciliation.
Republicans have balked at the size of the plan, which includes several measures outlined in the $ 1.8 trillion U.S. family plan proposal Biden announced in April.
On Tuesday, Biden made it clear that the job was far from done.
“The bill must now go to the House of Representatives where I look forward to getting its approval. We must get to work on the next critical element of my agenda, my Build Back Better plan,” the president said. .
Biden said he continues to “be optimistic” about moving to reconciliation.
“I think we can get a significant part, if not all, of the components of the reconciliation” in the final bill, Biden said. “I think we’ll have enough Democrats to vote. And I think the House will end up tabling two bills on my desk. One on infrastructure and one on reconciliation.”
But insisted on why he wouldn’t call on the House to immediately pass the bipartisan package for a vote, Biden laughed, adding, “We’ll get there. I’ll have both.”
This story has been updated with additional comments from the President.
CNN’s Ali Zaslav, Clare Foran, Tami Luhby, Katie Lobosco and Jasmine Wright and contributed to this report.
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