Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) is taking aim at what he says are President Donald Trump’s failed promises — specifically his failure to pass a massive infrastructure package.
During a speech on Tuesday, Biden said the government desperately needs to “modernize America’s infrastructure” to help fuel a “clean energy revolution” and ensure Americans can get to work and school safely.
Biden discussed some of the issues plaguing the country’s infrastructure and argued that addressing these issues would create jobs and improve the health and safety of Americans.
“Even if we weren’t facing a pandemic and an economic crisis, we should be making these investments anyways. One in five miles of our highways are still in ‘poor condition’ according to the American Engineers. Ten thousand, actually, tens of thousands of bridges are in disrepair and some of the verge of collapse presenting a clear and present danger to peoples’ lives.”
But he slammed Trump for repeatedly announcing “Infrastructure Week” and failing to pass a long-promised bill aimed at rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
“Despite this overwhelming need, this president and Republican Congress have simply failed to act. There’s no other way of saying it,” Biden said.
“Donald Trump promised a big infrastructure bill when he ran in 2016. He promised it again in 2017. And then in 2018. And again in 2019. And now he’s promising one again. It seems like every few weeks when he needs a distraction from the latest charges of corruption in his staff, or the conviction of high ranking members of the administration and political apparatus, the White House announces quote it’s infrastructure week. How many times have you heard him say that? But he’s never delivered. Never really even tried.”
Watch the video below:
‘How many times have you heard him say that, but he’s never delivered. He’s never even really tried.’ — @JoeBiden called out Trump for his phony ’Infrastructure Weeks’ and broken promises pic.twitter.com/BRV1T5DKeE
— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) July 14, 2020
During the 2016 campaign, and his time in office, Trump repeatedly called for a new, massive infrastructure bill to address America’s aging infrastructure.
In 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE) released its Infrastructure Report Card — which it publishes every four years — that year’s report gave American infrastructure a D+ grade.
That’s the same grade it published in its 2013 report.
In its latest report card, the ASCE estimated that the United States would have to spend about $4.5 trillion by 2025 to repair the country’s roads, bridges, dams, and airports.
Last, Congressional Democrats indicated they reached an agreement with Trump on a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that would repair the nation’s roads and bridges and vastly expand broadband access. However, that plan made very little headway.
And over time, Trump’s announcement of “Infrastructure Week” — which have thus far not resulted in any serious progress — has become a punchline in Washington, D.C.