Biden signs $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law

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President Joe Biden signed into law a $1 trillion infrastructure bill at a White House ceremony on Monday that drew Democrats and Republicans who pushed the legislation through a deeply divided U.S. Congress.

The measure is designed to create jobs across the country by dispersing billions of dollars to state and local governments to fix crumbling bridges and roads and by expanding broadband internet access to millions of Americans, reports Reuters.

The bill-signing ceremony, held in chilly weather on the White House South Lawn to accommodate a big crowd, was an increasingly rare moment when members of both parties were willing to stand together and celebrate a bipartisan achievement.

Biden, whose job approval ratings have dropped because of his handling of the economy and other issues, heard supportive chants of “Joe, Joe, Joe” from some in the crowd and got a standing ovation as he stepped to the microphone.

Biden said the bill’s passage showed that “despite the cynics, Democrats and Republicans can come together and deliver results.” He called the bill a “blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America.”

“Too often in Washington, the reason we don’t get things done is because we insist on getting everything we want. With this law, we focused on getting things done,” Biden said.

Speakers included Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the centrist Arizona Democrat whose opposition to some tax increases has forced a scaling back of a companion piece of legislation, Biden’s $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” social safety net plan.

Sinema and fellow Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who also attended, have angered some in their party for resisting a number of items sought by progressives in the social spending bill. Sinema appeared to refer to the criticism in her remarks.

“Delivering this legislation for the American people – this is what it looks like when elected leaders set aside differences, shut out the noise and focus on delivering results on the issues that matter most to everyday Americans,” she said.