President Joe Biden was in Lake Charles today to tout his American Jobs Plan, which he says will create millions of jobs to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. Biden says this legislation would result in tax hikes for the wealthiest Americans to pay for new roads and bridges, like the Calcasieu River Bridge.
“One with six lanes, new interchanges, that’s safer, reduces congestion, it shouldn’t be this hard or take this long to fix a bridge that is this important,” said Biden.
Biden says over 80,000 vehicles a day use the I-10 bridge in Lake Charles and it’s one of 45,000 bridges in the US that are structurally deficient.
Republicans do not support Biden’s plan. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana says the President is promoting a budget-busting tax hike that will force middle-class jobs overseas. But Biden says his plan would result in over 16-million American jobs and is willing to meet with GOP legislators to find common ground.
“I’m willing to hear ideas from both sides, I’m meeting with my Republican friends up in Congress to see number one how much they are willing to go for and their priorities and I’m ready to compromise,” said Biden.
The other issue surrounding Mr. Biden’s trip to Lake Charles is hurricane recovery. Local officials say Hurricane Laura devasted the region and Congress has yet to approve a disaster relief package. The President says he believes residents in southwest Louisiana need the help and he’ll make sure they get it.
“People of Louisiana have always picked themselves up, just like America always picks itself up, there’s no quit in America and there’s not quit in Louisiana in what I’ve observed,” said Biden.
Comments