By Mona Austin
Pres. Joe Biden's visit to a Kentucky's deteriorating Brent Spence Bridge on Wednesday was politically emblematic of what it will take to resolve some of the nation's infrastructure problems and its poltical divide - bi-partisanship.
With Biden standing beside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the men were a literal bridge to opposing political sides. The bridge will be repaired in a project funded by the $1 trillion bi-partisan infrastructre bill the president signed in 2022. It is laced with opportunities to improve the arteries of the nation -- roads, bridges, railroads, ports, and airports.
McConnell, who called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law a literal "legislative miracle" said, "This bridge I think symbolizes the coming together of both sides to try to get things done."
Biden echoed the odds-defying campaign slogan of former Pres. Barack Obama in emphsaizing the word "can" in his remarks: "We can work together. We can get things done. We can work together," he said.
McConnell thanked Pres. Biden for bringing the bill to fruition.
President Biden also recognized Leader McConnell, saying, “It wouldn’t happened without your hand…I want to thank you for that.”
Specifically, Biden revealed the 60--year-old Brent Spence Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River and connects Covington, KY to Cincinnati, OH will receive long-awaited repairs with $1 billion investment of the project's cost coming form the ifrastructure deal and another $250 million will coming from the Kentucky General Assembly.
Biden said in a 2021 visit to the area that he would "fix that damn" bridge and can now count securing the federal funds for it among his promises kept.
While putting political differences aside manifested for the city of Covington, as Biden was giving his remarks there, Washington lawmakers were divided on voting in a new Speaker of the house of Repreentatives in Congress, striking a stark contrast.
In the words of Hip Hop artist Rob Base, "It take two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it out of sight."
תגובות