PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris sounded like they were on the campaign trail Friday as they addressed the Democratic National Committee winter meeting at the Sheraton in Center City Philadelphia.
As attendees chanted “four more years,” the president and vice president each boasted about the accomplishments of the first two years of their administration, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, climate measures, reduced drug prices for seniors and the first gun control legislation in 30 years.
“We’re running on our record. As of this month, we’ve created 12 million new jobs,” Biden said to cheers. “We created more new jobs in two years than any president did in their entire term … wages are up. Inflation is down. COVID no longer controls our lives.”
Harris hit similar themes and told the Democratic officials it’s time to start talking more about the administration’s accomplishments.
“We are delivering. Actually, we are delivering big time. And now, let’s let the people know,” said Harris.
But they also took aim at Republicans.
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The president vowed to stop GOP efforts to cut Medicare and replace the federal income tax with a 30% sales tax.
“That means 30% on groceries, gasoline, clothing school supplies, medicine, big-ticket items, cars, shifting the entire burden to the working class and middle class of America,” Biden said.
“It’s not going to happen. I’m going to veto the sucker if it ever gets to me.”
Biden repeated past themes in describing the GOP, calling them “not your father’s Republican Party.”
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“These aren’t conservatives. These are disruptive people. They intend to destroy the progress we’ve made,” he said.
The president ended on an upbeat note, calling this an inflection point in history.
“An extraordinary opportunity to build the future we want for our children and grandchildren that hadn’t been available to us before,” he said. “An extraordinary opportunity to build America in a world that’s more fair and just and more free. That fills me with optimism.”
Pennsylvania’s party chair, state Sen. Sharif Street, praised the speech.
“One of the things I think the president realizes is while he’s been doing the work of getting things done, he probably hasn’t done enough talking about his accomplishments. I think it’s time that he’s going to start doing that,” said Street.
“It was incredible, the level of energy he had was great, but his ability to articulate just how much progress we have made. I think people sometimes forget the state the country was in when he took over.”
Biden touts $500 million in water infrastructure
Before the appearance at the DNC winter meeting, Biden and Harris visited Philadelphia’s Belmont Water Treatment Plant to announce federal funding to replace miles of crumbling, decades-old pipes and water mains in the city.
At the plant, the president put a special emphasis on replacing lead service lines in order to protect children from lead poisoning.
Philadelphia will receive $340 million through the Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan from the Environmental Protection Agency. That money will pay for the replacement of 160 lead service lines and 13 miles of water mains.
“The CDC estimates that over half of American children could be exposed to lead, with the exposure often coming from their own homes,” Biden said.
“The problem disproportionately affects low-income families. This is the United States of America. We know better than that.”
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The president also touted the jobs that the spending will create.
“One of the things about the infrastructure law I’m most excited about [is that] we’re doing this with American workers and with products made in America, and with union labor. That’s the condition thrown in.”
The loan is in addition to $160 million dollars the city is getting through the Infrastructure Law. The money will go toward upgrading facilities and replacing 19 miles of lead service lines.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called it “game-changing” money.
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“I know that people just want to be able to turn on the tap and trust the water that comes out of it. Thanks to this investment they will be able to,” he said.
Philadelphia Deputy Managing Director for Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability Mike Carroll said the city is grateful for the loan and the infrastructure money, especially because it’s just the first year of a five-year commitment.
“We remain an old city with old infrastructure, and there’s a ton of work to do,” said Carroll. “This is a big shot in the arm, but it’s really a fraction of the need that’s out there.”
Caroll notes that, even with the funding, the Philadelphia Water Department has requested a rate increase.
In all, Pennsylvania will receive $8.1 billion in the first year of infrastructure bill funding, according to the Biden administration. Along with improving water systems, the money will also go toward improvements for roads and bridges, internet access, public transit, airports, clean energy, and electric vehicle charging stations.
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But even with all of the announcements, 8-year-old Nolan Curtis stole the show.
“You’ve done so much for so many kids,” the president said to Curtis.
Nolan suffered lead poisoning as a baby, from the water in her own house — a living example why Biden said he is committed to removing every lead pipe in the country in the next ten years.
“Every American deserves to be able to turn on their water tap or faucet and be able to drink clean water. We’re the richest, most prosperous nation in the world. Water ought to be something that’s just guaranteed.”
Nolan’s mom, Jana Curtis, said she’s grateful the government is acting to prevent others from the struggles her family faced.
“Our kids will be safer, our communities, stronger.”
Philadelphia DNC winter meeting could make history
Over the next two days, Democrats may decide to change the 50-year tradition of making the Iowa caucuses the first nominating event of the presidential race, in favor of a more representative state.
Political consultant Brendan McPhillips had huge success in Iowa in 2020 when his candidate, Pete Buttigieg, won the caucuses, but he agrees it may be time for a change.
“I think it’s important that you still have that opportunity to have a landscape where a newcomer, like a Pete Buttigieg, can find success, so you don’t just have the most established candidates with the deepest campaign war chests,” he said. “The party is asking the right questions about how to make sure the primary process is taking place in more diverse areas and including more voters.”
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Biden has promoted South Carolina as the lead-off state, but McPhillips thinks Pennsylvania would be a better choice.
“I’m going to be a homer here for a minute,” he said. “I think Pennsylvania has everything you need for that. We’ve got diverse cities. We’ve got rural areas.”
The DNC meeting opened Thursday and continues through Saturday.