What to Know
- President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a $292 million mega-grant to be used to help build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, as part of a broader effort to contrast his economic vision and that of the Republicans.
- The money is part of $1.2 billion in mega-grants being awarded under the infrastructure law of 2021.
- The project will renovate the 1910 tunnel that already carried regarding 200,000 weekday passengers under the Hudson between New Jersey and Manhattan, an upgrade long overdue following decades in which the government failed to fund the infrastructure.
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a $292 million mega-grant that will be used to help build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, as part of a broader effort to test his vision. economy and that of the Republicans.
The money is part of $1.2 billion in mega-grants being awarded under the infrastructure bill of 2021. The Democratic president’s trip to New York City on Tuesday came on the heels of his Monday stop in Baltimore to highlight the replacement of an old railway tunnel there, where he promised that government spending on infrastructure will boost economic growth and create blue-collar jobs.
The stop in New York also gave Biden the opportunity to highlight that his administration launched a project that languished during President Donald Trump’s tenure. The year-long upgrade of the Hudson project began in 2013 but stalled as Trump was fighting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer over funding for the project.
“This is one of the largest and most far-reaching projects in the country,” Biden said. “But we finally have the money and we are going to do it. I promise you we will make it.”
The trips to New York and Baltimore amount to a form of counterprogramming for the new House Republican majority. Republican lawmakers are seeking deep spending cuts in exchange for lifting the government’s statutory borrowing limit, saying federal spending is hurting growth and the budget needs to be balanced.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Biden are scheduled to meet Wednesday, and the Republican lawmaker intends to press his case for spending cuts despite White House officials saying Biden will not negotiate on the need to increase the federal debt limit.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in the United States who doesn’t agree that there are some wasteful spending in Washington that we can eliminate,” McCarthy told CBS News on Sunday.
Mitch Landrieu, the senior White House adviser responsible for coordinating implementation of the infrastructure law, told reporters Tuesday that if Republicans are looking to “take money away from projects, I think they should identify which projects they don’t want.”
“And then you can have that discussion with the American people,” Landrieu added.
Speaking at a political fundraiser in Manhattan following his Hudson Tunnel speech, Biden called McCarthy a “decent man” but said the Republican made “absolutely outrageous” compromises to seal support from the most conservative members of his party. The event, organized by former hedge fund executive Jeffrey Weber, raised $1 million for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund.
For some in the Biden administration, the Hudson Tunnel Project demonstrates what might be lost if spending cuts are implemented. In total, the construction is expected to create 72,000 jobs, according to the White House.
The project will renovate the 1910 tunnel that already carried regarding 200,000 weekday passengers under the Hudson between New Jersey and Manhattan, an upgrade long overdue following decades in which the government failed to fund the infrastructure.
“We can’t lead the world in this century if we’re relying on infrastructure from the turn of the last century,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
The grant would be used to help complete lining for an additional rail tunnel under the river, preserving a right-of-way for the eventual tunnel. In total, the project is expected to cost $16 billion and help alleviate delays for New Jersey commuters and Amtrak passengers passing through New York City.
Biden argued that the project is critical far beyond the Big Apple.
“If this line is closed for just one day, it would cost our economy $100 million,” Biden said. “And the current Hudson River rail tunnel may be a shocking bottleneck.”
Other projects receiving mega-grants include the Brent Spence Bridge, which connects Kentucky and Ohio; the replacement of the Calcasieu River Bridge in Louisiana; a commuter train in Illinois; the Alligator River Bridge in North Carolina; a transit and highway plan in California; and highways in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi.
Not everyone has been pleased with the mega-grant program. Some Republican lawmakers in Arizona say he gave preference to public transportation and repair projects over expansion and new construction.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) noted that the Northeast Corridor produces approximately 20% of GDP (gross domestic product) of the US and that Biden was finally ushering in the long-awaited modernization of an essential artery that moves countless people and goods through the heart of the US economy. Booker called it poetic that Biden, who regularly traveled from his home in Delaware and Washington during his years in the Senate, was the one who was getting the project back on track.
“This is a hallelujah moment,” Booker said.
Schumer criticized Trump for delaying the project during his tenure while he was feuding with Democrats.
“Get on the Joe Biden Express now because we won’t stop,” Schumer said. “For four years, the former president was shoveling you know what and now we’re going to put real shovels in the ground, wielded by real American workers.”
