November 16, 2023
NBC News/YouTube
The new sign at I-95 Northbound at Frankford Ave. is one of several in key battleground states that take a jab at former President Trump. Above, President Biden in October announcing that the Philly region will be the site of one of seven regional hydrogen hubs.
The Democratic National Committee unveiled a new billboard campaign in Philadelphia yesterday to mark the two-year anniversary of President Joe Biden signing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It’s part of a larger push by Democrats in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to draw attention to the results of the $1.2 trillion bill, a signature piece of the president’s economic policy.
The new sign at I-95 Northbound at Frankford Ave. is one of several in cities in key battleground states, and takes a jab at former President Donald Trump. During the Trump administration, the concept of “infrastructure week” became a running joke, something Trump first promised during his campaign in 2016. Trump’s “infrastructure week” plans were repeatedly canceled or otherwise derailed by the president, to the point that the phrase became “something of a joke and a metaphor for any well-intentioned proposal doomed to go nowhere,” as the New York Times put it.
MORE: Philly region chosen as one of Biden administration's hydrogen energy hubs
“While Trump turned ‘infrastructure week’ into a running joke, President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering concrete results – rebuilding roads and bridges, providing clean drinking water, expanding affordable internet access, and spurring job growth for communities in Pennsylvania and across the country,” DNC spokesperson Rhyan Lake said in a statement.
As of October 2023, according to the White House, Pennsylvania has received $13.8 billion in funding from the infrastructure law, for 331 specific projects identified. Of that total, $10 billion has been announced for transportation, including $54 million to Philadelphia International Airport through the Department of Transportation’s Airport Terminal Program. Pennsylvania will also be part of two of the hydrogen hub projects Biden announced last month: the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub (MACH2) and the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2).
Roughly $657 million has been announced for clean water and water infrastructure, and the state received $1.2 billion to provide high-speed internet access to residents across the state through the bipartisan infrastructure law.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa) said in a statement Wednesday that because of the infrastructure law “billions of federal dollars have flowed into the infrastructure that sustains Pennsylvania, from our roads and bridges to our drinking water to our internet connections. Because of these generational investments, we are building a Commonwealth and a Nation that is stronger, healthier, and more resilient.”
Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kim Lyons for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and Twitter.
