(RepublicanDaily.org) – Infrastructure has been the talk of Capitol Hill for weeks now, with Democrats and Republicans struggling to find a bill that represented an acceptable compromise for both parties. In the end, though, they managed it.
Now, Biden’s recent comments related to climate change and infrastructure have some scratching their heads.
Infrastructure & The Climate
On Tuesday, June 29, President Biden remarked on the soaring temperatures currently recorded across the United States. He spoke specifically about Portland, which has seen record high temperatures over the last while and attributed the situation to global warming.
Continuing, the president said the United States needed to “make investments” to prepare for more “extreme weather events” in the future, referring to “natural infrastructure.”
So, if climate change has created such a profound and immediate need for infrastructural investment, what has Joe Biden been waiting for? Furthermore, why is he satisfied to let the more radical elements of his party dictate terms to him on this issue, delaying this supposedly much-needed spending?
Infrastructure Drama
There’s currently a bipartisan infrastructure proposal on the table that would if passed, spend $1.2 trillion over eight years, upgrading roads, bridges, broadband networks, infrastructure to support electric vehicles, and more besides.
The deal represents a substantial investment, but one more in line with Republican budget goals than earlier Democratic proposals. So, everyone wins, right?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Liberals like Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are determined to pass measures related to “human infrastructure” through a budget reconciliation bill. These lawmakers insist that, unless this bill makes its way to President Biden’s desk as well, there will be no bipartisan infrastructure legislation.
Biden himself has been somewhat incoherent about his stance on this matter. He initially said he wouldn’t sign one bill without the other but later walked back this remark, stating he hadn’t intended to suggest he would veto the cross-party bill.
So, despite the long and arduous process that went into reaching a bipartisan infrastructure agreement, it looks like the whole thing could still collapse.
The Right and Left of American politics have been inching further apart for years now. This has made for a toxic atmosphere in Washington, DC, and significantly slowed legislative progress on crucial policy matters. President Biden needs to lean away from the radical elements of his party and sign this rare piece of cross-party cooperation into law for the good of both America’s people and her system of government. Especially if he wants to ensure the country is prepared for extreme weather events in the future.
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