Biden touts Hudson River tunnel project and infrastructure law in New York next week

President Biden will travel to New York next week to discuss the impact of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package he signed in November 2021 on the local economy, according to the White House.

The 80-year-old president will arrive at the Big Apple next Tuesday after stopping in Baltimore, Maryland on Monday to tout a massive infrastructure package that was passed by Congress with bipartisan support.

“In New York, the president will discuss how bipartisan funding for the Hudson River Tunnel project under the Infrastructure Act will improve the reliability of Amtrak and New Jersey Transit’s 200,000 daily passenger rides,” White House press secretary Karine Jean said Monday. -Pierre.

According to the White House, the long-delayed Hudson River Tunnel project “will create well-paying jobs, including union jobs; less travel time; and improve safety.

The president plans to discuss how the infrastructure bill and its economic plan will “lead to billions of dollars of private sector investment” in New York and other parts of the country.

Then outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio attended a bill signing ceremony at the White House in November 2021 and told reporters the giant spending bill was “unbelievable” and would go down “in history.”

“It will mean a lot to New York,” de Blasio said at the time. “It means a future for the MTA that we can rely on, it means zero vision, it means safety, it means bike lanes, it means the Gateway Tunnel, it’s incredible.”

“This will change the history of our city,” he added.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill gives $8 billion in support for the Gateway project, which includes a new tunnel as well as repairs to existing pipes destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

“This rail tunnel is like an aorta,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told The Post in November 2021. “This is a vital link connecting one side of the Hudson to the other and connecting Boston to Washington.”

The bill was supported by several GOP senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Senators Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

Progressive Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), opposed the bill and said Biden was exaggerating the impact the bill would have. She and others hoped to pass a larger social and environmental spending bill.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the infrastructure bill will add $256 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years.