As both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and President Joe Biden’s larger economic bill are on hold in Washington, Biden hit the road to pitch his “Build Back Better” agenda Tuesday. The video above shows clips from the trip.
Joined by Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Biden talked about his economic agenda at a union training center in Howell, Michigan.
“These bills are about competitiveness versus complacency. They’re about opportunity versus decay,” Biden said. “They’re about leading the world or continuing to let the world pass us by, which is literally happening.”
Biden urged swift action on both bills while in Michigan. “America’s still the largest economy in the world, we still have the most productive workers and the most innovative minds in the world, but we’re at risk of losing our edge as a nation,” he said.
Before leaving Washington, Biden met with 11 House Democrats to talk his economic agenda. Meeting participants included:
- Rep. Colin Allred (TX)
- Rep. Cindy Axne (IA)
- Rep. Sharice Davids (KS)
- Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX)
- Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (TX)
- Rep. Lucy McBath (GA)
- Rep. Tom O’Halleran (AZ)
- Rep. Katie Porter (CA)
- Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA)
- Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL)
- Rep. Susan Wild (PA)
“They had a productive discussion about how each of these economic growth packages, both physical and human infrastructure, are central to how we ensure our economy delivers for the middle class and secure our competitiveness in the world,” the White House said of the meeting.
The participating representatives, like Rep. Slotkin, represent swing districts that Democrats need to win in 2022 to maintain a House majority.
Tuesday’s meeting came a day after a separate economic agenda meeting between Biden and 12 progressive House members. No deal has been struck to settle the differences between moderates and progressives on the size and scope of the larger bill. However, Biden has conceded the once-$3.5 trillion bill would be closer to $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion, according to a Democrat familiar with the sessions.
There’s currently an end-of-week goal for drafting a final package.
In the battle between progressive and moderates, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday Biden “has picked a side”.
“He signed up with the progressives, came up and tanked his own infrastructure bill and as a result of that, they’ve obviously taken a one-month pause,” McConnell said.