Biden set to highlight in Baltimore how infrastructure deal will affect nation’s ports
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By Maegan Vazquez and Betsy Klein, CNN
President Joe Biden takes his sales pitch for the newly passed bipartisan infrastructure deal on the road Wednesday, highlighting the effect of the bill on supply chains, hours after new inflation statistics revealed that America’s prices are surging more than they have in 30 years.
The remarks will take place at the Port of Baltimore late Wednesday afternoon, where the President will tout provisions in the infrastructure deal aimed at addressing pressure points leading to inflation. The White House has signaled that Biden will sign the plan into law next week.
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday indicated that US consumer price inflation surged higher again in October. Over the past 12 months, prices climbed 6.2% — the biggest increase since November 1990.
After stripping out food and energy prices, which tend to be more volatile, the index rose 4.6% over the same period, the biggest jump since August 1991.
In a statement released earlier Wednesday to address the stark inflation statistics, Biden said that some “price increases reflect the ongoing struggle to restore smooth operations in the economy in the restart.”
“And I want to reemphasize my commitment to the independence of the Federal Reserve to monitor inflation, and take steps necessary to combat it,” he added.
A senior administration official had told reporters on Tuesday that the Baltimore visit is “an illustrative example” of the private-public partnership at the nation’s ports.
Biden’s stop in Charm City will take place near the 127 year-old Howard Street Tunnel, which “only accommodates single stack containers right now.” It “will be expanded to accommodate double stack containers from the Port of Baltimore all the way out to the Midwest,” in a project co-funded by federal, state and private partners, the official said.
“It’s an example of the kind of investments that are needed for both the private- and public-sector side. It’s also an illustration that the co-funding in the bipartisan infrastructure plan incentivizes the private sector to make these kinds of long-term investments as well,” the official added.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced a new set of immediate and short-term actions aimed at alleviating supply chain issues at the nation’s ports, waterways and freight networks as the administration takes steps to implement the infrastructure bill.
The new actions include flexibility for port grants through the Department of Transportation to solve supply chain disruptions, funding for a pop-up container yard project underway at the Port of Savannah, a $420 million grant program for ports and marine highways that will be launched within the next 45 days, and identifying coastal and waterway projects for $4 billion in funding for US Army Corps of Engineers construction.
It will also prioritize identifying key US ports of entry for $3.4 billion in modernization and expansion projects within 90 days and open competition for $475 million in port infrastructure grants through the bipartisan bill within 90 days.
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CNN’s Anneken Tappe contributed to this report.
