In response to new reporting that JD Vance privately asked Secretary Buittigieg for funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that he publicly called a “huge, huge mistake,” DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“JD Vance is once again showing the American people both of his faces. After spending months publicly trashing the Biden-Harris administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provided hundreds of billions to repair our nation’s transportation network, Vance turned around and privately asked them for funding from the same law he disparaged in public as ‘crazy’ and a ‘huge, huge mistake.’ If Vance and Donald Trump had their way, none of this critical funding would have ever been available for important projects in Ohio and across the country – but fortunately for Vance, Democrats like Vice President Harris were able to deliver actual results for the American people where Trump failed.”
NEW: JD Vance spent months trashing the Biden-Harris administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – before privately asking for over $200 million in funding from the same law from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
AP: “As he campaigned for the Senate two years ago, JD Vance harshly criticized a bipartisan 2021 law to invest more than $1 trillion in America’s crumbling infrastructure, calling it a ‘huge mistake’ shaped by Democrats who want to spend big taxpayer dollars on ‘really crazy stuff.’”
“That hasn’t stopped the first-term Ohio senator and Republican vice-presidential nominee from seeking more than $200 million in federal money made available through the law for projects across his state, according to records reviewed by The Associated Press.”
“After taking office in January 2023, Vance appears to have warmed to the legislation his predecessor helped write — though not publicly.”
“In 10 letters addressed to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that were sent between 2023 and 2024, Vance requested more than $213 million made available through the law for Ohio projects, according to copies of his correspondence obtained by the AP. At least four of those projects were approved and are slated to get about $130 million, federal records show.”
After Donald Trump’s presidency was marked by years of empty promises and failed plans to fix our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, the Biden-Harris administration was able to deliver actual results.
Spectrum News: “Biden celebrates ‘Infrastructure Week’ by touting $454B in projects from landmark bill”
The Hill: “White House uses Infrastructure Week to tout progress on thousands of projects”
“To date, the administration has launched nearly 13,000 bridge repair projects and improvements on more than 257,000 miles of road. The government has also provided funding for over 5,000 clean school buses intended to lower emissions, as well as funding to help replace up to 1.7 million toxic lead pipes.
“Biden routinely seeks to contrast his administration’s focus on infrastructure with former President Trump’s repeated failure to deliver on an infrastructure bill, despite repeated promises of an ‘infrastructure week.’”
Forbes: “The term ‘Infrastructure Week’ has historically been a punchline because it continually gets announced and then later canceled for other priorities. This year is different.
“On Monday, the Biden-Harris Administration kicked off Infrastructure Week by highlighting the full range of investments and projects from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and American Rescue Plan. … These efforts are making communities and Main Streets stronger and preparing them for the future.”
Under Trump, “Infrastructure Week” was nothing more than a long-running joke.
New York Times: “How ‘Infrastructure Week’ Became a Long-Running Joke”
“At this point in the Trump presidency, ‘Infrastructure Week’ is less a date on the calendar than it is a ‘Groundhog Day’-style fever dream doomed to be repeated.
“Roughly two years after the White House first came up with the idea of discussing, for all of seven days, the pursuit of a bipartisan agreement to rebuild the nation’s roads, bridges and broadband networks, President Trump more or less torpedoed those plans on Wednesday in a Rose Garden speech.”
CNN: “Like the Bermuda Triangle or Spinal Tap’s new drummer, the words ‘Infrastructure Week’ seem to be cursed. No fewer than seven times – including this very week – has Trump’s White House declared that its chosen theme of a week would be infrastructure – only to see those plans thwarted, often by the President himself.”
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Administration officials claim that [Trump’s] new infrastructure plan will support $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment, but his 2019 budget reveals that that number’s a mirage: the President would cut annual federal support for infrastructure in the long run and shift costs to states, cities, and private individuals. As we previewed here, it likely would mean cuts to some of the areas in which new infrastructure investment is needed most — while providing a potential windfall for private investors.”
Washington Post: “Trump’s 2016 campaign pledges on infrastructure have fallen short, creating opening for Biden”
Even after Trump left office, he railed against bipartisan efforts to fund the Biden-Harris infrastructure decade.
Politico: “Donald Trump tried and failed to pass an infrastructure bill so many times over the course of his presidency that his attempts were reduced to a punchline. Now out of office, Trump is trying to ensure that his successor, Joe Biden, suffers the indignity of the ‘infrastructure week’ jokes as well.
“The former president has sounded off repeatedly in the past week about the negotiations taking place between Senate Republicans and Democrats on the Hill and in the White House. He’s encouraged GOP lawmakers to abandon the talks and criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for even entertaining them. Senate Republicans have said, in interviews, that they have directly asked the former president not just to tone down his criticism but to actually support the infrastructure deal.”
Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris, the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing billions to update our nation’s roads and bridges, renew our transportation networks, and ensure every American has clean drinking water and access to high-speed internet.
Associated Press: “President Joe Biden signed his hard-fought $1 trillion infrastructure deal into law Monday before a bipartisan, celebratory crowd on the White House lawn, declaring that the new infusion of cash for roads, bridges, ports and more is going to make life ‘change for the better’ for the American people.”
Reuters: “‘Finally, infrastructure week!’ Biden says, cheering $1 trillion bill”
CNN: “Biden announces $3 billion project to restore communities split by highways as he continues campaign blitz”
Baltimore Sun: “Federal rail infrastructure money to help pay for Baltimore tunnel, Maryland bridge replacements and Penn Station face-lift”
Reuters: “Biden offers millions and hope for delayed Hudson River tunnel project”
Cincinnati Enquirer: “‘We can get things done’: Biden praises bipartisanship and Brent Spence Bridge project”
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: “Biden administration sends millions to states for bridge repair, replacement”
MAGA House Republicans remain hellbent on undermining the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that’s delivering for communities across America.
Washington Post: “It took decades for Congress to deliver on its promise to pour new money into the nation’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and internet connections. Now, House Republicans are trying to slash some of the same funds. A series of GOP bills to finance the federal government in 2024 would wipe out billions of dollars meant to repair the nation’s aging infrastructure, potentially undercutting a 2021 law that was one of Washington’s rare recent bipartisan achievements. The proposed cuts could hamstring some of the most urgently needed public-works projects across the country, from improving rail safety to reducing lead contamination at schools.”
Insider: “Many congressional Republicans have repeatedly attempted to slash funding for passenger rail and other infrastructure priorities. The House is poised to vote in early November on a transportation funding bill that would strip about $1.5 billion in funding from Amtrak — an approximately 64% cut in the rail system’s annual federal funding.”