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Biden advocates for infrastructure bill in Virginia in latest stop in nationwide tour

President Joe Biden
Posted at 11:56 AM, May 03, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-03 13:58:07-04

President Joe Biden on Monday stumped for his proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan during a trip to Virginia, the latest stop in what his aids are calling the “Getting America Back on Track Tour.”

During his trip to the Hampton Roads area of southern Virginia, Biden and the first lady visited an elementary school to highlight some of the features of the bill that would benefit working families and school-age children.

Among those provisions is 12 weeks of paid family medical leave for working parents.

“No one should have to choose between a job and a paycheck or taking care of themselves, a parent, a spouse, or a child that’s ill,” Biden said Monday during prepared remarks.

Following his visit to the elementary school, Biden toured an HVAC facility at which he gave prepared remarks about his bill.

During those remarks, Biden said the he believes that there is "overwhelming bipartisan support” for his bill, and reiterated that the bill would only be paid for by tax increases for corporations and the richest Americans.

"Anybody making less than $400,000 will not pay a single penny in taxes," Biden said.

The trip to Virginia marked Biden’s third stop on the “Getting America Back on Track” tour. Last Thursday, he traveled to Atlanta to highlight the portions of the infrastructure bill that expand health care and child care for working families.

"Health care should be a right, not a privilege," Biden told the crowd at the drive-in rally Thursday night. He talked about both plans, calling them a “blue collar blueprint” for change to move the country forward. The proposals would invest in roads, transit, education and family leave.

On Friday, Biden traveled to Philadelphia, where he celebrated the 50th anniversary of Amtrak at the 30th Street Train Station. There, he highlighted the bill’s proposed commuter rail expansion and the positive environmental impacts such an expansion would have.