Biden looks to reap rewards of huge infrastructure bill

Biden looks to reap rewards of huge infrastructure bill

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden hits the road yesterday to show off the huge new infrastructure bill passed last week, hoping to reap its benefits politically even as he watches his approval ratings slump. The Democratic president chose Baltimore, a port city less than an hour’s drive from Washington, to explain to the nation why and how the country will spend $1.2 trillion on its sagging infrastructure.

On Monday evening, in an interview on local television in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Democratic leader insisted it would only be a “matter of weeks” before the effects of the massive investment plan would start to be seen. Days earlier he had predicted it would be “two to three months” before the public starts to see the real effects of the bill on expanding internet networks, roads, bridges, drinking water pipes, electric car charging stations and a slew of other projects.

The president is counting on the program producing an impact-at least politically-before Americans vote in midterm elections in a year’s time. That election, traditionally a challenge for the party in power, could well cost the Democrats their slim majority in Congress. In the meantime, Biden’s cabinet has been rallying to play up the legislative win,