BIDEN VISITS LOUISIANA— With a badly aging bridge as his backdrop, President Joe Biden stood in reliably Republican Louisiana on Thursday continuing his “Getting America Back on Track” tour to promote his $2.3 trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards welcomed the President and also took a moment to underscore Louisiana’s infrastructure needs.
"Louisiana's roads and bridge infrastructure is graded at a D+," Edwards said. "Louisiana has a $14 billion backlog in infrastructure projects and the fact of the matter is we need assistance from the federal government in order to get many of these projects completed."
"Louisiana has a $14 billion backlog in infrastructure projects and the fact of the matter is we need assistance from the federal government in order to get many of these projects completed." Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana
When President Biden took to the podium he reflected on his previous visits to Lake Charles, and took a moment to recognize a recent Op-Ed written by the mayors of Lake Charles and Shreveport in support of his “American Jobs Plan”. From there Biden outlined its purpose.
"A once-in-a-generation investment in America itself," Biden said. "Create jobs, modernize our bridges, our roads, our highways, our ports, our airports, our water pipes, our water projects, high-speed internet, transmission lines, and sustainable housing."
Biden said a corporate tax rate between 25% and 28% could help pay for his infrastructure plan, which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said would not get Republican support, and he also has taken issue with some items in Biden’s plan that aren’t traditional infrastructure-oriented including efforts to combat climate change and money to support providers of in-home care for older and disabled Americans. Biden expressed a need for both Republicans and Democrats to work together and he also expressed a willingness to compromise on his proposal.
"I'm willing to hear ideas from both sides, I'm meeting with my Republican friends up in the Congress to see number one how much they're willing to go for, what they think are the priorities," Biden explained. "I'm ready to compromise. What I'm not ready to do, I'm not ready to do nothing."
"I'm ready to compromise. What I'm not ready to do, I'm not ready to do nothing." President Joe Biden
The U.S. corporate tax rate dropped to 21% from 35% after the 2017 tax cut pushed by then-President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans, but government analysts say many big U.S. companies pay much less. President Biden finished up his visit to Louisiana with a trip to New Orleans to tour a water plant before heading back to Washington, D.C.