President Joe Biden lauded what he contends would be the job-creating benefits of a forthcoming Democratic-crafted “human infrastructure” proposal during a Wednesday visit to McHenry County in Illinois — smack in the state’s northern swath of Trump country.
Former President Donald Trump handily defeated Biden in the surrounding area in 2020, and the president’s Wednesday trip marked his third trip to Trump country in recent weeks. This time, he visited a community college in Crystal Lake.
Recommended Stories
WHITE HOUSE RALLYING SUPPORT FOR BIDEN’S FAMILIES PLAN FROM NON-GOVERNMENT CONSERVATIVES
On those two previous trips, Biden explained the import to his respective audiences of Congress sending him a bipartisan, physical infrastructure bill, worth an estimated $1 trillion, to be signed into law. But on Wednesday, he touched on the “human” investments included in the looming reconciliation package Democrats are expected to use to pass the remaining items included in Biden’s infrastructure plans.
“In addition to the bipartisan infrastructure agreement that I believe we’re going to get done, I’m here to make a case for the second critical part of my domestic agenda,” the president stated Wednesday. “It’s a combination of parts of my American Jobs Plan that were essential as well as my American Families Plan. In Washington, they call it a reconciliation bill.”
“Back in the campaign, I said we’re going to build back and build back better. We can’t just build back. We have to build back better,” Biden claimed.
None of the initiatives Biden addressed on Wednesday hadn’t previously been touted by the administration, and many, such as historic investments in electric vehicles and transitioning the country toward a renewable energy-powered grid, have been heavily critiqued by Republicans. Still, the administration is conducting significant outreach to outside policy experts on both sides of the aisle to lobby support for two specific parts of Biden’s Families proposal that some Republicans have expressed interest in: tax incentives for child care and paid parental leave plans.
“We’re one of the few major economies in the world that doesn’t cover paid family medical leave,” Biden explained. “The most difficult moment someone will ever face, no one should have to choose between a job and paycheck and taking care of somebody you love — parent, a spouse, a child.”
As he closed, the president reframed both infrastructure packages as creating “millions” of jobs in the “industries of tomorrow.”
“This is going to be an American century,” Biden told the crowd. “My American Families Plan and the other elements of the Build Back Better agenda, experts on Wall Street and analysts have said will create millions of good-paying jobs, for years and decades to come, not just in the near term. So I’m going to be making the case to the American people until the job is done.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM WASHINGTON EXAMINER
You can watch Biden’s Wednesday remarks in their entirety below.
