Biden travels to Missouri to highlight U.S. infrastructure law

[December 08, 2021]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday to draw attention to his $1 trillion program to invest in infrastructure.

Biden will visit the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority to highlight the law, which invests in the country's roads, bridges and public transportation, and passed Congress last month with support from Republicans and Democrats.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said the trip was meant to demonstrate "how the president is following through on his promise to forge bipartisan consensus and prove our democracy can deliver big wins for the American people."

Despite the bipartisan win on infrastructure, Biden's opinion poll numbers have sunk as Americans fret about the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.

The White House is eager to promote the bill to highlight Biden's accomplishments ahead of mid-term elections next year, when Democrats are seeking to fend off Republican efforts to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

resident Joe Biden walks from Marine One to the Oval Office, at the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 2, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/Files

A White House official said the White House was launching a website, Build.gov, to describe the law and a new branding phrase, “Building a Better America,” to promote it.

Biden is working to pass a separate "Build Back Better" social spending and climate change bill, which is facing an uncertain future in the U.S. Senate.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

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