Biden, President of the United States, at the White House on June 24, with a bipartisan group senators. He then delivered remarks about the infrastructure deal. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images).My belief has always been that the nation can do anything if we all work together. We began a new chapter in this story last week.After weeks of negotiations, a bipartisan group US senators reached an agreement to proceed with key parts of my American Jobs plan. This is a once in a generation investment to modernize America's infrastructure. It will create millions of jobs that are well-paid and position America to compete globally and win the 21st Century.My economic strategy, which includes the Infrastructure Deal, will create millions of jobs over many years and generate trillions in economic growth. One study of my Jobs Plan found that nearly 90% of the jobs it will create don't require a college education, while 75 percent only require an associates degree. It's a blueprint for rebuilding America that is blue-collar.Over half of all bridges in the country are older than 50 years. To help our economy and make our communities more safe, I believe that we should hire Americans to repair these bridges. This agreement represents the largest investment made in bridge repair since the advent of the interstate highway network. It will rebuild 10 of America's most important bridges, and 10,000 smaller ones that families, workers, and businesses rely on every day.The project will allow Americans to replace our nation's lead water pipes, so every American child can turn the tap and get clean water at home or school. This would be the largest American investment in clean drinking water. Up to 10 million households and 400,000 schools and childcare centres in the U.S. get their water from service lines and lead pipes. This agreement will end lead-contaminated water, particularly in communities of color and rural America.Although the bill lacks some crucial initiatives on climate change, which I suggested initiatives in the reconciliation bill, the infrastructure deal represents a significant step forward in building clean energy. It would be the largest American investment in clean energy transmission, modernizing the power grid and accelerating the transition to zero-carbon, renewable energy. It would replace thousands upon thousands of polluting buses with clean, efficient electric buses, including 35,000 school buses. It would seal off abandoned wells that leak methane gas.Continue the storyPlus: This deal will create a national network of charging stations for electric cars, with 500,000 stations total. It makes significant investments in rail and transit, which will reduce fossil fuel consumption and get passenger cars off the roads. While there is still much to be done to achieve our ambitious climate goals and the investments made in this deal are crucial in facilitating our transition towards a clean energy economy.We will strengthen and revitalize our natural infrastructure, coastlines, and levees across the country. Additionally, we will prepare our physical infrastructure to handle wildfires, floods, and other extreme weather events.High-quality people are needed to deliver high-speed internet service to all American homes, even to the 35 percent of rural households that currently lack it. It is unacceptable that children should be forced to use the internet to access online school and homework. High-speed internet has become a necessity in the 21st century. It is just like electricity and water.The deal will make it easier for Americans to commute to work every day. This includes communities of color, who are twice as likely than others to use public transit, but have less options. It is the largest federal investment ever made in public transit, making public transportation safer, faster, cleaner, and more reliable for millions of Americans.This deal is also the largest in American rail investment since Amtrak's creation. It will invest billions to modernize our ports and airports. Many of our business leaders tell me that we are behind other countries in terms of our rail system and airports. China boasts more than 22,000 miles high-speed rail. No U.S. airport is ranked among the top 25. The United States is now a leader in 21st-century transportation.We will get this done without increasing taxes on Americans earning less than $400,000 per year. This is crucial. This means that there will be no increase in gas taxes for working families who have already paid enough. Instead, we pay for these investments by giving the IRS the resources it requires to collect taxes the richest Americans owe but are not currently paying. It targets tax cheats and not hardworking middle-class Americans.This is the largest investment in infrastructure for nearly a century. All economists agree that this deal would create good jobs and significantly strengthen our economy over the long-term.The deal is also about more. It's a signal to us and the world that American democracy can work for the people.This agreement did not include everything that Republicans and Democrats wanted. That is what democracy is all about. It means to compromise and come to a consensus. We can begin to break down the ice that has too often kept us stuck and prevented us solving real problems.I will continue to work with Congress to pass my remaining economic and clean-energy agenda. There is a pressing need to invest in housing and clean energy deployment. We must also make critical investments in human infrastructure, including childcare, paid leave, universal preK, free community college, tax cuts for families with children, and in childcare. They are interdependent with the physical infrastructure.To complete the task, there is a lot of work ahead. There will be more compromises and disagreements. This is a deal that the American people can be proud.Joseph R. Biden Jr., 46th president of United States.
