visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021] >> later >> later on, president biden had more to say about the bipartisan infrastructure deal. this is 30 minutes. voting rights legislation, the afghanistan troop withdrawal, and the building collapse in florida. this is half an hour. president biden: please, please, be seated.

good afternoon. if you hear a little noise in the background, it's because i'm supposed to be getting on a helicopter to head to north carolina, which i'm going to be doing right after this. the vice president and i want to lay out what we just settled, at least for the moment, with our friends, the bipartisan group of senators. i said many times before, there's nothing our nation can't do when we decide to do it together. do it as one nation. today is the latest example of that truth, in my view. i'm pleased to report that a bipartisan group of senators, five democrats, five republicans, part of a larger group, has come together and forged an agreement that will create millions of american jobsed a modernize our american

infrastructure to compete with the rest of the worlded a own the 21st century. i want to thank them for working together and for raising their ideas and concerns with me and with the vice president. as well as with our jobs cabinet. secretaries beaut he going -- secretary buttigieg is here, good to see you. secretary fudge, secretary grantholm. secretary -- i have to make sure. i thought everybody was on this side. i also want to thank senator shelly can puto for her earlier -- caputo for her earlier work. she tried her best to get something done. i'm sure it helped produce the final agreement we have. the fact is investment in jobs and infrastructure have often had bipartisan support in the past. as a matter of fact, when i first got to the united states senate, it was probably the least difficult thing to do. is pass infrastructure plans. but even so, it's been a very

long time since the last time our country was able to strike a major bipartisan deal on american infrastructure, which is so badly needed, i might add. we've devoted far too much energy to competing with one another and not nearly enough energy competing with the rest of the world. to win the 21st century. the investments we'll be making as a result of this deal are long overdue. they'll put americans to work in good-paying jobs, repairing our roads and bridges. they'll deliver high-speed internet to every american home, bringing down the price that people pay now for internet service. and they'll close the american digital divide. as has been driven home by every mother and father with a child at home during the covid crisis. that is tharning god abating. and kits not being able to be in school. this could put plumbers and pipe fitters to work. it's going to replace 100% of the nation's lead water pipes.

so that every child and every american can turn on the faucet at home or at school and during clean water -- drink clean water, low income communities and commune communities of color that have been disproportionately affected by led pipes and the consequences of that. this deal makes keen investments to put people to work all across the country building transmission lines, upgrading the power grid to be more energy efficient and resilient, and extreme weather, to be able to sustain extreme weather and the climate crisis. it also builds our natural infrastructure, our coastlines and our levees to be more resilient as well. american workers will be installing electric vehicle charging stations and undertaking critical environmental cleanups. this bipartisan agreement represents the largest investment in public transit in american riftry -- history and i might add that the largest investment in rail since the creation of amtrak. you all know i have nothing but affection for amtrak, having traveled over a million miles

on it, commuting every day. but it's a big deal. . going to leverage private capital and clean energy projects and provide consumers with good paying jobs. al little bit of breathing room, little bit of breathing room. middle class will take it. i mean it sincerely and all the people that can't take that breath and they have no margin for error. and we are going to do it all without raising a cent from earners below $400,000. no gas tax increase, no fee electric vehicles and we are going to help ensure that everybody in america is in a position to be able to do what needs to be done.

let me be clear. we are in a race with china and the rest of the world for the 21st century. they are not waiting. but investing tens of billions of billions. i met with the g-7 and nato and e.u. and with mr. putin all separately. there is massive investments. can dems dements compete in the 21 stl century. and this is a big move toward that. we have to move and we have to move fast. and this agreement signals to the world that we can function, deliver and do significant things. these investments represent the national effort throughout our history has literally transformed america to propel us

into the future. the transcontinental railroad and investments we made together that only our government was in a position to make. now we are poised to add a new tradition. let me be clear. neither side got everything they wanted in this deal and that's what it means to compromise. and it reflects something important. reflects consensus, the heart of democracy requires consensus and time true bipartisan effort breaking the ice that has kept us frozen in place and prevented us from facing the real problems. thm means millions of good paying jobs and fewer burdenens across the table. but also signals to ourselves and to the world that america america democracy did deliver

and it represents an important step forward to our country. i want to be clear about something else. today is a huge day for one half of my economic agenda, the american jobs plan and clean transportation, clean water, universal broadband and resilience. and there are two-thirds of the resources that i proposed. 2/3 of what i called for. but i'm getting the work to congress the other way. the american family plan continues the plan on child care, education, the economy, clean energy tax cuts, clean energy and tax cuts for american families and much more. for me, investments in our infrastructure are intertwined and both make us better off and

stronger. the case is clear. the economists left, right and center, independent wall street forecasters sigh these public means more jobs and more workers, higher productivity and higher growth for our economy on the long run. both need to get done. i will work with speaker pelosi and leader schumer to move through the legislative process and in tandem and i emphasize that, in tandem. we need the human infrastructure as well. they are part of my overall plan. and the physical infrastructure. no agreement. we are going to do it through the budget process. i'm not going to ress until they both get to my desk.

and i know there are some of my party who discourage me from seeking agreement with my republican colleagues who said we should go bigger and go alone. to them, i have shown my young presidency that i'm prepared to do what needs to get done to move the country forward. that's what i did in the american rescue plan in $1. trillion. working across party lines, that is what i will seek to do. the reason why is because broader support for -- the broadest support for proposal is the strongest prospects for passage working together allows us to make bipartisan process whenever possible without foreclosing the right and necessity on a majority basis when so-called reconciliation

process. and for the deal being announced today, there is plenty of work ahead to bring this home. this will require hard work and collaboration. the committee chairs and ranking members will play. the more compromise to be fought along the way. this group of senators can be proud today because we reaffirm once again that we are the united states of america. there is not a single thing beyond our capacity that we are unable to do when we do it together. i know a lot of you doubt that unity is possible. taste hard, but it's necessary and it can get done. i thank you all. and god pleas you and i will

take a few questions. reporter: what assurance that you have support from the house and senate to move on this? president biden: nobody knows for certainty. it is not an unreasonable question. the idea of my telling you that every senator is going to vote, i don't know know that. i do know that among the roughly 20 bipartisan groups of senators -- senators, i met with 10 today, that we had an agreement. for example, talk about the biden compromise. when is the last time you asked me to get passenger rail service, the largest investment ever since amtrak came about?

got $66 billion. talk about public transit, $49 billion of public transit. when i raised that before, some of you looked at me sige where have you been biden. i haven't been to china. electric buses. i asked for 15 and i couldn't get it all. electric infrastructure, that is charting stations and i asked for 15 and i got 7.5. these are significant down payments after skillful negotiations. when you ask me what guarantee do i have that i have all the votes that i need, i don't have any guarantee, but what i do have is a good read of how the congress and the senate works.

and the idea that we are not going because someone isn't going to get some things they want, there is nothing that is bad for it, bad for the than environment, bad for the economy, bad for the transportation is unlikely. i can't guarantee it. you know that. [indiscernible jks -- [indiscernible] president biden: i will answer your question after we have so coherence here. number one, i worked with a lot of these people in the room, i know them. everybody knows and you guys

know that senators say something, they mean it. and others you take and discount it. the single currency in the senate is keeping your word. you know, the senator from alaska and maine, they never broken their word, they are friends. the people i was with today are people that i trust. i don't agree with them on a lot of things, but i trust them when they say this is a deal and will stick to the deal just like when they say i don't trust you. this is a deal, let's stick with. i made it clear today. i think we should have $300 billion tax credit dealing with the environment. it will be giant tax cuts for

corporations and giant move toward whether every building in america and all the things we need to do. so when i said we agree, i'm not going to renegotiate the amtrak piece but going to get $300 million tax credits for the environment. that's the best i can answer the question. [naerc] -- indiscernible]

president biden: they know who i

am and know my regard. and what about voting rights. voting rights is the most consequential thidges that i will be going around the country spending time making the case to the american people, that this isn't about showing identification that this is who i am when i vote but this is whether or not you can provide water for someone standing in line while waiting to vote and this is about who gets to judge if your vote has been counted after it has been cast. think about it. up to now, every state in the federal government has assumed there would be officials who are appointed and/or elected in states where elected officials would uphold certain requirements to make sure the vote was honest and fair. what these guys are trying to do

now is say if you don't like the way the vote turned out and we control the state legislature, we are going to stay say the vote didn't count. it's wrong. who in god's name left them boss? their vote has to count when you cast it. there are other things in this legislation that i support. there is no -- if i had my way there would be no private contributions to see how much gets elected if you raise money. every election day would be a day off because people can't -- people work certain shifts can't make it to the election. i would make it when you turn 18. it's a worthy fight. but much more profound than that.

it's about saying that the legislature in georgia could decide as republican legislature, you know, i'm a reflection and i don't think that was fair and say it didn't count. that's simply wrong. it's wrong. and in my view. this is the sacred right to vote, as john lewis said, it is the, the, the most important right you have. so i'm going to make the case across the country as best i can . [indiscernible conversation] >> how do you anticipate what you will do? president biden: i'm not signing it. what i expect, i expect that in

the coming months this summer before the fiscal year is over that we will have voting on this bill as well as the infrastructure and the budget resolution. and that's when -- if only one comes to me, if it comes to me, i'm not signing it. it's in tandem. >> do you support speaker pelosi -- [indiscernible] president biden: yes. [indiscernible] president biden: look, the bipartisan bill from the very beginning was understood was going to be the sicked part of

the and not signing the bipartisan bill. i proposed a significant piece of legislation in three parts and all three parts include -- and by the way, my party, everybody tells me who my party is, my party is divided. my party is divided but my party is rational. if they can't get everything single thing they want, are they going to vote no? i don't think so? [indiscernible]

president biden: but i'm not going to negotiate with the press while i'm negotiating and privately with my colleagues and these are really tough decisions. i don't in any way dismiss what senator murphy says about the environment. just remind you, i wrote the bill on the environment.

why would i not be for it? question for it is how much can we get done? and the bottom line is, when all is said and done, does what you agreed to preclude you from getting the things you want. i'm not going to vote for those deals. secondly, do get what you wanted and come back and fight them every day. i have been president for 150 days. i have done fairly well so far. not because of me, but because the way the system works. i know that doesn't answer your questions, can you tell me when and how you are going to do it? i just feel the best way to get a senator or congress person who supports the essence of what's

already there, but says they don't have enough of what's there among other things, the best way to get that message across is go to the constituents and say here's what is on the table. do you think your senator, your congress person should offer that? so the came pain. i'm against charlie smith or harry wilson. that doesn't stop. i mean that stops and what doesn't stop is saying, like in the last example, i promise i won't do this to you again, but remember in 2018, everybody said we are going to lose, the democrats are going to lies the house and senate. the house isn't going to make gains and won 60 congressional districts.

i didn't go after the individual congress persons to make sure we kept the affordable care act but i went to their constituents and said the affordable care act is important. and here's why you should do it. i would look at what what they say. he is for it. he is not. guess what? 40r-some seats. it is not just convincing this particular congress person but the rational case if you can in the communities why it is important to get done and i think the fact that i didn't get everything now at this moment -- for example a lot of hour hunger pieces didn't get passed. we are coming back at it. we are going to make the case. if i make the case to the public

at large -- and one thing i say, you report what i say. problem is i disappoint you because i can't negotiate with you before i negotiate with my coloogs. i think that the public understands and they are seeing the proof is in what is happening. it's not projected that our economy is going to grow above 7% this year. projections from wall street to the fed is going to continue to grow. we are going to increase more. and guess what? i'm not being critical and legitimate questions you are asking me, asking me, guess what, employers can't find workers. i said yeah, pay them more. this is an employees' bargaining

chip now. what is happening. they have to start and paying people a decent wage. and by the way, talk about inflation. alabama overwhelming consensus is going to go up and come down. so, again, if it turns out that what i have done so far, what we have done so far is a mistake, it's going to show, it's going to show and the economy is not going to grow like it did before. people aren't going to have increased jobs with increased people and people are going to be out of work. unemployment is going to continue to climb. if that happens, and my policies didn't make a lot of sense. i'm counting on it. i have to get a helicopter --

[indiscernible conversation] president biden: i have spoken with the mayor of miami dade who was in my office and i had a long discussion with her today and i have spoken with and come in cappingt with debbie wasserman schultz who is in charge of that district and fema is ready to go. they are down inspecting what they think is needed pu i'm waiting for the governor to declare a emergency especially as we know what might happen with the rest of the building. we are ready to move federal resources immediately, immediately.

we can't go in. but fema is down there taking a look at what's needed and including everything from if the rest of the buildings have to be evacuated, founding housing and making sure they have the capacity to have a place to shelter and food to eat. that is under way now. and my chief of staff has been deeply involved in this from the very beginning and the cabinet involved in it now dealing with fema and working on it and i made it clear, i say to the people of florida, whatever help you want and the federal government can provide, we are waiting, just ask us, we will be there. we will be there. reporter: what do you say about the vice president going to the border tomorrow?

[ [indiscernible conversation] >> we have already begun the process. those who helped us are not going to be left behind. i don't know that, i will be meeting with -- and coming to my office but they are will commed here just like anyone here who has risked their lives >> coming up today on c-span, the houses is back at 9:00 a.m. eastern to consider overturning a trump-era role, limiting the epa's ability. 2:30, we are live from

minneapolis for the sentencing of former police officer derek chauvin, found guilty in the murder of george floyd. on c-span2 at 10:00 a.m., a hearing on brain health research. at noon, the manhattan institute has a discussion on crime and policing, which republican senator tom kotten -- with republican senator tom cotton of arkansas. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government, funded by these television companies and more, including mediacom. >> the world changed in an instant, but mediacom was ready, and we never slowed down. schools and businesses went virtual, and repowered a new reality because at media, we are built to keep you ahead. >> mediacom support c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front rosie democracy -- front row seat democracy.