Biden Talks Education And Infrastructure In Whirlwind North Jersey Tour

NEW JERSEY — President Joseph Biden visited New Jersey on Monday where he stopped by a Somerset County school and also to break ground on the Portal North Bridge.

Biden joined Governor Phil Murphy, and federal, state, and local officials in Kearny for the groundbreaking on Monday afternoon.

The Portal North Bridge, which is part of the larger Gateway Program, is supposed to reduce gridlock caused by critical operation and maintenance issues of the existing 110-year-old swing bridge and improve service, reliability and capacity for rail travel between New Jersey and New York City.

"The infrastructure bill is about rebuilding the arteries of America, and the Portal Bridge Project is showing why investments like this are so important. When the Portal Bridge was built, it was state-of-the-art, and it was, 110 years ago," said Biden. "Today, it's been called something different, a chokepoint, a bottleneck, an Achilles' Heel to the Northeast Corridor. Since the Portal Bridge was built, it has become the busiest rail span in the entire Western Hemisphere. Today, we are moving forward on a new bridge so that it will be higher over the water, so it won't need to open and close, and allow us to increase speed, safety, efficiency, and capacity. It's going to make life a lot better for New Jersey's commuters."

"Today is a great day for New Jersey and the entirety of the Northeast Corridor," said Murphy. "This momentous groundbreaking is the culmination of years of hard work, planning, and relentless lobbying undertaken by our Administration, our federal delegation, and so many dedicated partners across government. The Portal North Bridge is the beginning of the largest critical infrastructure project in our nation, and with President Biden’s leadership, we are embarking on the path to completion of the Gateway Program."

The project is being funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak. Murphy signed a Full Funding Grant Agreement which secured $766.5 million in Federal Transit Administration funding to support the project’s construction this past January.

Prior to the groundbreaking, Biden stopped in North Plainfield with Murphy to visit a school.

"We’ve expanded access to high-quality, free pre-K to thousands of working families here in New Jersey. By investing in universal pre-K for three- and four-year-olds, @POTUS’s Build Back Better Agenda will uplift working families and strengthen our nation’s future," Murphy tweeted.

"We used to lead the world in educational achievement now the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks America 35 out of 37 countries when it comes to investing in early childhood education and care," said Biden. "We can not be competitive in 2021 in the global economy if we continue to slide."

The President’s plan would ensure that no middle-class family pays more than 7 percent of their income for high-quality child care up to age 5 — and that working families most in need won’t pay anything — saving the average family $14,800 per year, according to the White House.

Biden is also proposing making universal preschool a reality by partnering with states to offer every parent access to high-quality preschool for 3- and 4- year-olds in the setting of their choice, according to the White House.

"Fully implementing this investment is projected to benefit five million families and save the average American family $13,000 per year. And the Build Back Better Agenda would institute 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, to help improve the health of new mothers and reduce wage loss," according to the White House.

As a result of Biden's visit, roads were closed and the Federal Aviation Administration issued a VIP Movement Notification in the area of Newark from 1 through 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 25.

Watch Biden delivers remarks on the Build Back Better Agenda and Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal:

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