(Washington Insider Magazine) – President Biden will visit Kentucky on Wednesday with Republican leader Mitch McConnel in hopes to call attention to the $1 trillion Kentucky infrastructure bill approved through bipartisan agreements.
Kentucky Infrastructure Bill: What’s Included & Why Does It Matter?
The Kentucky infrastructure update will be presented during a ceremony highlighting the $1.64 billion in funding for the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project. The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor will connect two states by stretching across the Ohio River. Lawmakers approved the bill on a bipartisan basis in November 2021.
President Biden will be joined by a group of bipartisan elected officials from Kentucky and Ohio in efforts to show unified bipartisanship between democrats and republicans. (D)Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, (D) Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and (R ) Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio are said to be attending. President Biden hopes to unite both political parties through joint efforts, regardless of the election results of 2022, whereas Republicans gain political control of Congress.
The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project has been on the agenda of Kentucky and Ohio for many years. They have sought funding through three presidential elections, including Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The bridge that will connect the two states will ease the traffic of frustrated American commuters, as well as secure a seamless movement of the supply chain on what Republican Governor DeWine says will be a “nationally significant corridor”.
In 2011, former President Barack Obama visited the bridge and met with elected officials to seek out a solution to the need. Former President Obama then urged Congress to include the corridor project within a job bill, costing billions of dollars. However, the bridge had already been deemed functionally outdated and he was unable to secure the funding.
In 2016, former President Donald Trump also visited the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor and backed funding for the project. However, he was unable to secure money for the big infrastructure bill for all four years of his presidency.
In 2021, President Joe Biden was able to introduce a new economic plan and sway lawmakers to approve the Infrastructure Law of $27 billion bill on a bipartisan basis.
