c-spanshop.org. your purchase will support our nonprofit operations and you still have time to order the congressional directory with contact information for members of congress and the biden administration. >> after the senate passed the infrastructure bill, president bynum spoke to reporters about how the legislation will impact of u.s.. he is introduced by vice president kamala harris.

-- as we continue the fight to pass legislation to protect and strengthen the sacred right to vote. and as we continue the work to strengthen our nation's care economy, this is true today. today, we move one step closer to making a once in a generation investment in our nation's infrastructure. today, democrats, independents and republicans in the united states senate passed the infrastructure investment and jobs act. let me describe a little bit about why this bill is so important.

it is an investment in the roads and bridges we drive on every day to get our kids to school. it is an investment of the public transit we rely on to get people to work. it will mean people in our nation won't have to drink water from lead pipes or go to a fast food parking lot to get high-speed internet. and build toward a national fleet of electric school buses. the way i see it, and investment in infrastructure provides people with what they need. to get where they need to go. this bill that passed the senate today gives people what they need to get people where they need to go. it will do that while also

creating millions of good union jobs for our nation workers. it will do that while also helping our nations businesses compete worldwide. just so that we are clear, we are not going to raise middle-class taxes to pay for it. that is with the president promised and that is what we must deliver. this afternoon, i was proud to preside over the senate and i want to thank the senators who worked together to pass this bill. i also think the members of the house who will now work to get this bill to the president's desk. first and foremost, we would not be here today if it were not for the leadership of our president, joe biden.

from the very start, you welcomed ideas, you welcomed the bait. you welcomed democrats and independents and republicans to meet. in those meetings, i watched and listened, you deliberated, we were determined to bring all sides together and to deliver real results for the people of our nation. i know that even after this vote, our work will not stop. even when you sign the bill into law, our work will not stop. we will never stop working on behalf of the american people. so thank you, mr. president. thank you. thank you. and now it is my great honor to introduce the president of the united states, joe biden. pres. biden: thank you very

much. well thank you, madam vice-president. first of all, i want to thank a group of senators, democrats, and republicans, for doing what they told me they would do. the death of this legislation was mildly premature, as reported. they said they're willing to work in a bipartisan manner and i want to thank them for keeping their word. that's just what they did. after years and years of infrastructure week, we're on the cusp of an infrastructure decade that i truly believe will transform america. as you all know, just is a short while ago, the united states senate passed the infrastructure, investment and jobs act. the very legislation i ran on when i announced my candidacy for the nomination for president.

a historic investment in the nation's roads and highways, bridges, and transit. and our drinking water systems and broadband, clean energy. environmental cleanup, and making infrastructure more resilient. and the climate crisis much more in our minds is how do we deal with it? you know, we're poised, once again, and i mean this in a literal sense, to make the same kind of historic investments that have so often made it possible for america to build the future and allow us to out-compete the rest of the world. from building the erie canal in the early 1800s, a bipartisan effort, the transcontinental railroad. to construction that was constructed during the civil war. to dwight eisenhower's interstate highway system in 1950s. the investments that literally connected our entire nation and

fundamentally changed the pattern of life in america. to the public investments that took us to the moon, and the discovery of lifesaving medicines and vaccines, and gave us the internet. america has often had the greatest prosperity and made the most progress when we invest in america itself. and that's what this infrastructure bill does. with overwhelming support from the united states senate, 69 votes in the senate, a vote margin bigger than when interstate highway system passed the senate in 1956. it makes key investments that will, one, create millions of good union jobs all across the country. in cities, small towns, rural and tribal communities, america, america. this is how we truly build back better. put people to work. this bill willput people to work. modernizing our roads and our highways and our bridges.

so commuters and truckers don't lose time and traffic, saving billions of dollars nationally. today, up to 10 million homes in america, and more than 400,000 schools and childcare centers have pipes with lead in them, including for drinking water. this is a clear and present danger to the health of america, particularly to our children's health. this bill's going to put plumbers and pipe fitters to work. replacing all the nations lead pipes so every child, every american, can turn on a faucet at home or in school and know they're drinking clean water. during remote learning and during the pandemic last year, we saw too many families forced to sit, literally sit, in their vehicles in a fast food parking lot. so their children could get on the internet. they couldn't afford and didn't have access to at home. this bill will deliver affordable high speed internet to every american, a necessity

for the 21st century. we have seen in the last couple of years the damage done in texas and other places when transmission lines carrying power are taken down by extreme and unanticipated weather, leaving millions of folks without electricity for weeks and weeks. costing our economy billions and billions of dollars. this bill provides upgrades to our power grids so that more secure and resilient and cleaner energy can be transferred across those wires. down in new orleans, i met with the incredible women and men who are in charge of the water system. some of it running on technology that is literally 100 years old, this bill's going to provide opportunities to upgrade their system. strengthen our national

infrastructure, like our levees. these are at risk of catastrophic collapse in the face of extreme weather like superstorms, wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, and heat waves. last week, i stood, and many of you are with me, on the south lawn of the white house with the united auto workers and the leaders from the big three automobile companies in america, surrounded by iconic american vehicles that will all be electric, and made here in america in the not-too-distant future. this bill is also going to put ibw workers, electrical workers , to work installing italy national network of electric vehicle charging stations that will transform the way we travel and move commerce. by the way, around those charging stations, you'll see just like around when we put in gas stations in interstate highways, you'll see other industries build up. we have the benefit of sitting

get the reducing pollution from vehicles on our roads. look. this bill, i believe, will make the most important investment in public transit in american history. when i went to philadelphia not too long ago for amtrak's 50th anniversary, i was proud to be able to say that this bill was in the works and that it'll be the most important investment in rail since the creation of amtrak itself. this bill will upgrade railroad tracks so people can get to work and their destinations faster, and it will build new lines to get people to more places faster. reducing, i might add, pollution as well. and here is another critical part of the bill -- 90% of the jobs created don't require a college degree. you're tired of hearing me say it. i know. but this is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild america. we're going to do all of this by

keeping my commitment -- we will not raise taxes by one cent on people making less than $400,000 a year. everyone from union to business leaders to economists, left , right, and center, believe the public investment contained in this bill will generate more jobs, higher productivity, higher growth for our economy over the long term. forecasters on wall street project that over the next 10 years, our economy will expand by trillions of dollars, and will create an addition of two million jobs a year beyond what was already projected. good paying jobs all around the country. experts believe the majority of ommute. cleaner wat the bill's benefits will flow to working families.

faster commutes, cleaner water, less expense, available and affordable internet. these are the things that working families needs, that they need. as last week's job report shows, our economy is recovering at a record rate. 934,000 new jobs created in july. it's going to go up and down, but four million jobs created since i took office. this bill is going to help make a historic recovery a long-term boom. folks, above all, this historic investment in infrastructure is what i believe you, the american people want. what you've been asking for for a long, long time. this bill shows that we can work together. i know a lot of people, some sitting in the audience here, didn't think this could happen. this bill has been declared dead more often than, anyway. that bipartisanship was a thing of the past. from the time i announced my candidacy, about bringing the country together and doing things in a bipartisan way, it

was characterized as a relic of an earlier age. as you may well remember, i never believed that, and i still don't. so i want to thank those senators who worked so hard to bring this agreement together. i know it wasn't easy. for the republicans who supported this bill, you showed a lot of courage. i want to personally thank you for that. and i have called most of you on the phone to do just that. you have, and no doubt you will, disagree with me on many issues. but where we can agree, we should. here on this bill, we proved that we can still come together to do big things, important things for the american people. for the democrats who supported this bill, we can be proud of this unprecedented investments that are going to transform the nation and change millions of lives for the better. think about what's going to

happen in a practical sense. clogged arteries at the heart of our economy, they're going to be opened up. that will reduce transportation costs, reduce commuting costs. and as a result, reduce cost overall for families and businesses. and the safety provision are big. as i said not long ago, everyone can tell you what the most dangerous intersections in their communities are. there's money in there to deal with those specific needs. thousands of bridges will be safer and more accessible. by the way, as you've heard me say before, some bridges are so weak that they couldn't have a firetruck go across it, requiring a fire department to go 10, 12 miles out of the way to get just literally a mile away to put out a fire. millions of lead pipes carrying drinking water to our homes and schools and daycare centers, they're finally going to replace be replaced.

never again can we allow what happened in flint, michigan and jackson, mississippi. can never let it happen again. high-speed internet, going to be available and affordable everywhere to everyone, so farmers nationwide can get the best prices for the products at home and abroad by knowing when to sell. and children in chicago or philadelphia, never have to again sit in a mcdonald's parking lot to do their homework. this is transformational. i know compromise is hard for both sides, but it's important. it's important. it's necessary for democracy to be able to function. so i want to thank everyone on both sides of the aisle for supporting this bill. today, we proved that democracy can still work. a lot more work to do, but i want to thank senate republican leader, mitch mcconnell, for supporting it, this bill. and i want to give special

thanks to the senate majority leader, chuck schumer. your leadership, chuck, in the senate was masterful. but look, let's be clear, work is far from done. the bill now has to go to the house of representatives where i look forward to winning its approval. we have to get to work on the next critical piece of my agenda, my build back better plan, making housing more affordable. it's so unaffordable to so many americans. providing clean energy tax cuts, including homeowners to make energy-efficient improvements in their homes. bringing down the cost of prescription drugs, making elder care more affordable and continue to give middle-class families with children a tax break, a tax cut. the one they're receiving now. well-deserved childcare and healthcare that gives them just a little bit of breathing room.

this is a plan that invests in the american people and their future and their success. and it will be paid for by having the largest corporations, including 55 of them who didn't pay a single penny in federal income tax, and the super wealthy to begin to pay their fair share. i want you to be able to be millionaires and corporations to do incredibly well, but this isn't going to change anything for you. you'll still have your three homes, you'll still have whatever you need, and corporations will continue to do well. i have more say about this later as the senate continues work. but today, i'm happy to mark this significant milestone on the road toward making what we all know are long overdue, much needed investments in the basic, hard infrastructure of this nation. i truly believe that this bill proves the voice of the people will be heard. and we can all come together to

make a difference in people's lives. as you heard me say it before, and i apologize for repeating it, but there are no republican bridges or democratic roads. this is a moment that lives beyond the headlines, beyond partisan soundbites, beyond the culture of instant outrage, disinformation and conflict as entertainment. this is about us doing the real hard work of governing. it's about democracy delivering for the people. this is about winning the future. it's about doing our job. this is about building an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, giving everyone a decent chance at a decent life. and by the way, when the bottom middle do well, the wealthy do very, very well. nobody, nobody, nobody gets hurt. this is what i call governing and government doing its job, ensuring everybody's better off.

as i've said many times and i'll say it again today, we are the united states of america. there's nothing, nothing we can't do if we do it together. so thank you, god bless you all. and may god protect our troops. [reporters asking questions] >> mr. president, your reaction to the -- pres. biden: darlene of ap. reporter: thank you. what is your reaction to governor cuomo's, his announcement that he's stepping down? you called on him to resign. did you think he would? pres. biden: i respect the governor's decision and i respect the decision he made. reporter: mr. president, how concerned are you right now about children in schools given the 94% of children, many of them unable to get vaccinated because they're too young, have now tested positive? what are your concerns and how concerned are you that schools will not be able to stay open as

you've asked for? pres. biden: my concerns are deep, and i'm very concerned, and we all know why. look, i understand that there are millions of people decided, adults who decided not to get vaccinated. and i understand that to badger those folks is not likely to get them to move and get vaccinated. but i also understand that the reason children are becoming infected is because in most cases, they live in low vaccination rate states and communities, and they're getting it from unvaccinated adults. that's what's happening.

and so my plea is that for those who are not vaccinated, think about it. god willing the fda is going to be coming out in a reasonable timeframe to say this vaccine is totally safe. we've seen millions of doses around the world, a billion doses already, and we know how it's transmitted. and one of the things that i find a little disingenuous when i suggest that people in zones where there is a high risk, wear the mask like you all are doing, i'm told the government should get out of the way and not do that. they don't have the authority to do that. and i find it interesting that some of the very people who are saying that who hold government positions, are people who are threatening that if a school teacher asks the student, if

they've been vaccinated, or if a principal says that everyone in my school should wear a mask or the school board goes for it, that governor will nullify that, that governor has the authority to say, you can't do that. i find that totally counterintuitive. and quite frankly, disingenuous. reporter: do you have presidential powers to intervene in states like texas and florida, where they were banning mask mandates? pres. biden: i don't believe that i do thus far. we're checking that, but there are, on federal workforce i can. and i think that people just don't understand seeing little kids, i mean four or five, six years old in hospitals on ventilators. and some of them passing, not many, but some of them passing, it's almost, i mean, it's just, well, i should not characterize beyond that.

reporter: on andrew cuomo, his resignation. what impact, as the head of the party, what impact does his resignation have on the democratic party? pres. biden: i think the impact is all on andrew cuomo and his decision to make that judgment. and i respect his decision. reporter: in just the last few days, multiple cities in afghanistan have fallen to the taliban. there's irrefutable evidence that a vast majority of those afghan forces cannot hold ground there. has your current plan to withdraw us troops changed at all? pres. biden: no. look, we spent over a trillion dollars. over 20 years. we trained and equipped with modern equipment over 300,000 afghan forces, and afghan leaders have to come together. we lost thousands, death and injury, thousands of american personnel.

they've got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation. the united states, i'll insist we continue to keep the commitments we made, providing close air support, making sure that their air force functions and is operable resupplying their forces with food and equipment and paying all their salaries. but they've got to want to fight. they have outnumbered the taliban, and i'm getting daily briefings. i think there is still a possibility. you have a significant new secretary of defense, our equivalent of secretary of defense in afghanistan, bismillah khan. he's a serious fighter. i think they're beginning to realize they've got to come together politically at the top, but we're going to continue to keep our commitment. but i do not regret my decision.

this side. yes, ma'am. reporter: mr. president, on the issue of the infrastructure bill and the work that you have ahead of you now, are you concerned that you, are you confident that you have the support of all the democrats on board to get this $3.5 trillion package through? reporter: look, i have as i said, and i'm not referring to you in particular, just overall. i was going over some of the quotes from the moment that i got elected, how my plan was dead, this exact same plan i ran on. we'll see. i continue to be an optimist. i told you i was once referred to by a doc as a congenital optimist. i think that we can get a significant portion, if not all of the reconciliation bill, the budget, they're having the vote on now.

i think over the next month, which is the way it's going to work, they vote on all these amendments and then they get to the business of seeing how they can make it work and then come back. i know you understand this well, but the public wonders what we're talking about some time, and decide exactly what's in that reconciliation bill and how much is going to be spent. i think we will get enough democrats to vote for it. and i think that the house will eventually put two bills on my desk, one on infrastructure and one on reconciliation. thank you. thank you. reporter: i just want to return to the delta -- pres. biden: sorry, go ahead. reporter: turning to the delta variant a moment. do you think your administration

had enough mitigation measures in place early enough and whether you should have, perhaps heeded some of the lessons from other countries that had data as early as may and june, about how the variants spread? pres. biden: no. we knew how the variants spread and we know the vaccines prevent the spread. so a lot of countries didn't have the vaccines we were able to put together to make sure 3 we had over 600 million doses of vaccine for americans. and when we've exported over half a billion, we will over half a billion. so we knew. what is disappointing is that more people were not willing to take the vaccine. we've done everything in our power , well, i shouldn't say that. we will do more, but we continue to try to make the case to the american people who haven't taken the vaccine that is in your interest, can save your

life and can fundamentally impact on the lives of your children or people you love. now, one of the things that's happening as bad as things have gotten, the death rate is one 1/50th, don't hold me to the number, that significantly lower than when i inherited the coronavirus pandemic when i first got elected. so i continue to hope that people will overcome their fears, because they're fears. some are just as a political statement, but very few. i think most people are worried, and that's why i'm hoping that the fda will say that we permanently approve of these vaccines, because we have enough

for everyone. and i'm hoping that as people realize, and it is picking up, vaccines are picking up, but not at the rate they were before. i remember i was setting up sports stadiums, and we're doing to thousands of vaccines a day. and i wish i could have thought of something beyond what we've thought of. they make everybody want to get the vaccine, but that hasn't been the case. now at a federal level, what i'm going to be doing is making sure that they understand that i do have authority to say, if you're going to come in to this building, into a federal building, that you have to have been vaccinated or be wearing a mask. and i anticipate that it's probable that the defense department will, as they've put in place, all the mechanisms

needed to be able to in fact, impose or initiate a mandate for all the regular forces and reserves to get vaccinated. but i continue to be hopeful. you see, i had a talk with agent hutchison who said he made a mistake and he is working really hard going around, he told me that he's doing a lot of town meetings, not all of which are being embraced. but he's making the case. we're going to continue to make the case. [reporters asking questions] reporter: mr president, if i may? ironically, one of the democrats through the years that you spoke with about infrastructure the most was andrew cuomo, who announced he's resigning today. you had traveled new york with him when you were vice president to the launch of the reconstruction of laguardia. he was someone who supported your campaign early on, though you called on him to resign, though you condemn to the

alleged behavior. but you're someone who spends a lot of time with mayors and governors. how would you assess his 10 and a half years as governor of the state? in terms of his personal behavior or what he's done as a governor? pres. biden: well, he's done a hell of a job, he's done a hell of a job. and i mean both on everything from access to voting, to infrastructure, to a whole range of things. that's why it's so sad. last question right here. reporter: mr. president, i have a question about the significance of the bipartisan nature of the infrastructure agreement. are there lessons learned from that agreement that can be applied to boarding reform, police reform or lgbtq civil rights? pres. biden: by you guys or by me? reporter: by anyone. pres. biden: [laughs] i'm sorry. i shouldn't kid, because i was just reading about 50 statements from very serious press people about how my whole plan was dead from the beginning.

look, the lesson learned is being willing to talk and listen, listen. and i think the lesson learned is exposing people to other views. and so that's why from the beginning on all the subject you raised, i've sat with people and listened to their positions, some in agreement where i am and some in disagreement. and so i think it's a matter of listening, it's part of democracy. thank you. [reporters asking questions] reporter: why have you not named an fda commissioner, sir? reporter: andrew cuomo to resign immediately? he's leaving in 14 days. pres. biden: i'm not going to comment any more on andrew cuomo. reporter: why have you not named an fda commissioner sir? , pres. biden: say again? reporter: you haven't named fda commissioner yet. i was wondering why you found or named a permanent fda commissioner yet? pres. biden: we're working on that very hard to make sure we can get it passed. yes?

reporter: can i quickly follow up on your comment on governor cuomo? can you really say that he has done a, "hell of a job." if he's accused of sexually harassing women on the job? pres. biden: you asked me two questions. you asked the substantive, should he remain as governor is one question. and women should be believed when they make accusations that are able to, on the face of them, make sense, and investigated. and the judgment was made that what they said was correct. that's one thing. the question is, did he do a good job on infrastructure? that was the question. he did. reporter: well, the question was how did he do as a governor? pres. biden: no, the question was, correct me if i'm wrong. many about how was he as a governor, generally? outside of his personal behavior. pres. biden: outside his personal behavior. okay. reporter: can you separate the two? pres. biden: no, i was asked a specific question. i'm trying to answer specific. what do you want to ask me specifically? reporter: well, i'd like to ask you about infrastructure as well. given that you have said this is such an urgent bill that needs to be passed, why not have the house take it up immediately for a vote?

pres. biden: [laughs] we'll get it done. i'll get both. thank you. [reporters asking questions] reporter: mr president, would you like to see the fda speed up approval of the coronavirus vaccine? [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer: tonight, health and human services secretary xavier becerra on the 2022 budget request. after that, president biden on the infrastructure legislation. then, new york governor andrew cuomo, who resigned today amid sexual harassment allegations. announcer: c-span is your unfiltered view of the government, funded by these television companies, and more. >> broadband is a force for empowerment, that is why charter has built infrastructure, upgraded technology, empowering

in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. announcer: charter communications support c-span as a public service, along with these television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. announcer: health and human services secretary xavier becerra was at a house ways and means hearing to testify on the president's 2022 budget requests, and he was asked about unaccompanied children at the u.s. border. >> good morning. i want to thank secretary becerra for being with us. [indiscernible] i won't to remind members to keep these procedures running