President Joe Biden came to Louisiana Thursday touting his plan to rebuild the country in the wake of the pandemic.
"It's good to be back Governor Edwards," Mr. Biden said as he spoke from Lake Charles.
The president is promoting his American Jobs Plan.
"Now it's about rebuilding America... in a way that it has resilience," he said.
Watch Gov. Edwards and President Biden below...
He says the multi-trillion dollar bill would mean new road, bridges, highways, ports, airports, water pipes, sustainable housing, internet and more.
Mr. Biden called it "a once in a generation investment in our country."
He stood in front of the I-10 bridge in Lake Charles and talked about how it was categorized in poor condition and handles far more traffic than it was designed to accomodate.
"We have failed to properly invest in infrastructure for half a century," the president insisted. He says the nation has 45,000 structurally deficient bridges.
"Governor Edwards is finally moving forward with a plan to replace the bridge," he said in praising Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.
Edwards said in introducing the president, "Our needs still far exceed our means... Louisiana roads and bridge infrastructure right now is graded at a D+."
He added that Louisiana alone has a $14 billion backlog.
Mr. Biden said that more than one out of every five miles of roads in the country are in poor condition.
Republicans say the bill is way too big and includes spending on many items that are not related to traditional infrastructure. They are proposing a small package with a price tag in the hundreds of billions.
After leaving Lake Charles, the president traveled to New Orleans for a stop at the Sewerage and Water Board. He was greeted in Kenner by a bipartisan delegation of local, state and federal leaders.
The presidential motorcade is expected to disrupt traffic in the area from 3:30pm to about 5:30pm.