WASHINGTON — At a rare formal press conference in January, President Biden praised the $1 trillion infrastructure package recently approved by Democrats and Republicans, promising to rebuild miles of roads, improve railroads and bridges, and improve the U.S. public transportation system. become a source of international jealousy.
That same day, 16 Republican governors sent a letter to Mr. Biden underlining the great challenge he faces in turning his ambitions for law into reality.
The governors pushed back on federal efforts, set out in a memo, to encourage states to use the funds to repair roads rather than expand them, which the Biden administration says would exacerbate car emissions. The letter urged the government not to use the law to push its “social agenda,” which they say would hinder their own goals for the package, and to give them “maximum regulatory flexibility” in how the budget is spent. funds.
Mr Biden is expected to promote the law and commit to repair 65,000 miles of roads and 1,500 bridges in his State of the Union address Tuesday. He has spent the past few weeks traveling the country selling the package, which is central to his broader agenda of reducing emissions, promoting racial equality, creating jobs and providing assistance to underprivileged households. But much of the success rests with state leaders, who get to decide how to use much of the money and who don’t always share the president’s goals.
Central to that tension is Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans who helped rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina. As Mr. Biden’s infrastructure czar, Mr. Landrieu is responsible for ensuring that a signature piece of the president’s agenda is carried out on his terms.
He has campaigned outreach with state and local leaders in an effort to fulfill Mr. Biden’s vision, speaking with nearly every governor and more than 55 mayors and traveling the country promoting the law. On February 16, Mr. Landrieu met with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss their funding goals.
Some state leaders said their priorities aligned well with those of the federal government, such as repairing existing roads, repairing decades-old bridges and expanding Amtrak service.
“Broadly speaking, the goals of the bill and our goals are the same,” said Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, a Democrat. “It’s about upgrading ancient infrastructure that is essential for economic development. It’s about fairness and fairness.”
But others, while accepting the money, have frustrated federal efforts to direct its spending.
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, who signed the Jan. 19 letter, said states, especially those outside the East Coast, needed the space to meet their own priorities, such as building new highways. He also said the expansion of Amtrak service, a key goal of the Biden administration, was “not of much use” in Nebraska, given its less dense population.
Mr Landrieu telephoned Mr Ricketts in November to discuss how the two sides could coordinate their efforts. While the governor said he appreciated the call, he is not optimistic that the Biden administration will give states the flexibility they need.
“Outreach doesn’t matter if you’re going to limit us,” said Mr. Ricketts.
Republican lawmakers, several of whom voted with Democrats to pass the law, have sided with the states. Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia wrote their own letter to governors telling them to ignore the government memo, which they say had “no effect from the law.” On Feb. 18, Mr. McConnell, Ms. Capito and 27 other Republican senators sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, criticizing the memo.
Mr Landrieu said in an interview with DailyExpertNews that the letter from the governors did not surprise him. “There will always be conflict in that zone,” he said of the tension between the federal government and states.
Resolving that conflict will be a delicate balancing act. He acknowledged that governors would “have the final decision” and that some communities, such as those with fewer roads and bridges to repair, would need more flexibility.
“In those cases, it makes sense for them to do that. Not in other states,” said Mr. Landrieu. “There has to be flexibility there, and we recognize that.”
But he made it clear that the Biden administration would continue to try to influence the types of projects the funds went to, including by issuing federal guidelines and recommendations.
“The federal government has the power to enact what they call guidelines and rules and regulations,” Mr Landrieu said.
So far, some states have shown a willingness to defy — and challenge — those rules.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican whose state recently sued the Biden administration over attempts to reclaim the stimulus funds, said his office wasn’t afraid to push back if it felt federal guidelines were too far-reaching. Mr Ducey said widening highways was one of his top priorities for the burgeoning state.
“We don’t need additional guidance from the federal government,” he said.
Most of the money has yet to flow, with only nearly $100 billion allocated to state and local governments and most of the funding expected to be released in the next two to three years.
That poses another challenge for Mr. Landrieu. Many of these projects could take years to complete, making it more difficult for Mr Biden to highlight the impact of the law in the midterm elections and ahead of his reelection campaign.
Mr Landrieu said he faced a similar dilemma during his tenure, pointing to the construction of the new terminal at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. That $1 billion project, which he pushed for and secured funding for, was completed after his tenure, although he was not up for re-election. Mr. Landrieu said that Mr. Biden would continue to promote the package, but he did not think the president should stand next to completed projects for Americans to understand his contribution.
“Getting credit isn’t really that important. I mean, what you’re doing here is something that will last for generations, we hope,” Mr. Landrieu said. “So we want to go fast, but we want to get it right.”
“I can’t tell the African American community about their experience,” said Mr. landrieu. “I can give my opinion on a white man from the South who grew up during one of the toughest racial times and the way white people here have a hard time dealing with the issue of race in a way that allows us to recognize our past.”
His allies described him as a detail-oriented and effective leader who knew how to cut through federal bureaucracy. He built a reputation as the person who turned New Orleans around after it was run by C. Ray Nagin, who was later incarcerated for bribery and fraud. But he faced a mixed record on some of his infrastructure work, including his treatment of the city’s sewerage and water board. He was also known for being an aggressive leader who went through with his decisions, a style that annoyed some of his critics.
The Infrastructure Act at a glance
Some said that Mr. Landrieu’s experience running New Orleans equipped him for his current job. The city, with its pothole-filled streets, age-old pipes and ongoing flooding problems, epitomizes some of the country’s most serious infrastructure deficiencies.
Cedric Richmond, one of Mr. Biden’s closest advisers and a former congressman who represented most of New Orleans for a decade, said Mr. Landrieu had a track record of making tough decisions to “get things done.” get’, pointing to the new airport terminal.
Paul Rainwater, who served as interim director of the Sewerage and Water Board, said Mr. Landrieu “will not take an answer just like that.”
“He wants to know the hows and whys,” said Mr. Rainwater.
Mr Rainwater was responsible for reversing the sewerage and water board after a severe thunderstorm flooded the city’s pump and drainage network, flooding hundreds of cars and properties. After the floods of 2017, Mr Landrieu demanded the resignation of some officials from the agency, who initially claimed the system was working properly.
The situation sparked criticism from people like Aaron Mischler, the president of the New Orleans Fire Fighters Association, who said Mr. Landrieu had failed to improve the agency and oversee its leadership during his eight-year tenure.
“Those problems persist,” he said.
Some who worked with Mr. Landrieu described him as an aggressive leader. Rosalind Cook, a co-chair of the League of Women Voters of New Orleans, said the group met with Mr. Landrieu during his second term as mayor to discuss moving the upcoming early winter elections to the fall, when voters were less likely to vote. being distracted. through the holidays and sporting events.
According to Ms Cook, Mr Landrieu was adamant against the proposal, which could have shortened his term in office, saying the change had to wait.
“If he had a conflicting opinion, he was much more of a bully behind closed doors,” said Ms. Cook, a political science professor at Tulane University. The change was made later, but the inauguration date didn’t change, resulting in a longer transition.
Others said Mr Landrieu’s strong personality was an asset.
“Sometimes people aren’t always happy with a leader who moves as resolutely as Mitch has over time,” said Walt Leger, a former Louisiana State Representative. “But I’ve never seen that in a negative outcome for the community.”