Biden to visit Baltimore port as White House begins infrastructure road show

[November 10, 2021]    By Jarrett Renshaw

(Reuters) - President Joe Biden is expected to visit the port of Baltimore on Wednesday to tout billions of dollars included in the recently-passed $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that will help unclog the nation's ports.

Nov 8, 2021; Washington, DC, USA; U.S. President Joe Biden walks before welcoming the Milwaukee Bucks to the South Lawn of the White House to honor the team for its NBA Championship. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

The visit marks the first of many such trips Biden and top administration officials expect to make in upcoming weeks to highlight the benefits of the $1 trillion infrastructure package that passed on Friday after months of negotiations.

Biden is hoping to convince voters that Democrats delivered on campaign promises to invest in America's future ahead of the 2022 mid-term elections when the party will seek to defend its razor-thin majorities in Congress.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday that Biden has spent the last few months promoting the merits of the infrastructure plan and a separate roughly $1.75 trillion proposal to expand the nation's social safety net and fight climate change.

"Look, that's going to continue," Jean-Pierre said.

The infrastructure package includes $17 billion in investments to help the nation's ports, including dredging to allow for larger ships and capacity expansion.

Many U.S. ports have bridge or depth limitations that restrict their ability to receive larger vessels, while a surge of cargo is straining land operations at some ports.

(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia; Editing by Scott Malone and Aurora Ellis)

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