In a significant move to mend communities divided by infrastructure projects in the past, President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a $3.3 billion funding package. This substantial investment, sourced from the Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act signed earlier in his term, is set to benefit projects across 40 states, the White House revealed.
The announcement was made during a campaign speech in Milwaukee, a key battleground state, where Biden emphasized his administration’s commitment to transformative decisions that will impact American lives for decades to come. The funding will be directed towards projects that “increase access to health care, schools, jobs, places of worship, and other essential services and opportunities,” according to a White House fact sheet.
These projects will also aim to strengthen communities by transforming highways into public spaces, creating new transit routes, and adding sidewalks, bridges, bike lanes, and more. The initiative will particularly focus on areas that were divided due to the construction of the federal highway system decades ago, which disproportionately affected Black and brown communities across the country.
Biden’s Campaign Trail
Biden’s visit to Milwaukee is part of a series of post-State of the Union events across several crucial 2024 battleground states. This visit comes after Biden secured the Democratic nomination for president following a series of primary victories on Tuesday. His campaign trail also included stops in Pennsylvania and Georgia.
During his speech in Milwaukee, Biden took aim at former President Donald Trump and Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, criticizing their stance on Social Security and Medicare. Biden assured his audience that he would never allow cuts to these programs, accusing Trump of failing “the most basic duty any president owes to the American people: the duty to care.”
Infrastructure Boost for Milwaukee
Among the cities set to benefit from this infrastructure boost is Milwaukee, with about $36 million earmarked for the revitalization of the city’s 6th Street Corridor. Biden highlighted that Sen. Ron Johnson had voted against the infrastructure law that funds this project.
The president addressed an invited crowd of approximately 200 people at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee. Despite nearby protests against the administration’s support for Israel amidst its conflict with Hamas in Gaza, the president’s speech proceeded without interruption.