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Feb. 17 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden took his infrastructure message to the blue-collar Cleveland suburbs Thursday with a message on how a law he championed will bring good-paying building jobs to Ohio and the Midwest. The speech was part of Biden's string of speeches he has been making through the country touting the infrastructure law signed last year in an effort to boost his credentials across party lines as the mid-term elections get into high gear.
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The "Midwest built America" through steel and auto plants, Biden said at a shipyard in Lorain, Ohio, adding that the infrastructure law will give the region a chance to shine again.
"Our infrastructure used to be rated No. 1 in the world," Biden said. "Today, we rank No. 13 in the world. China and the rest of the world are catching up and passing us. Now with our infrastructure law, we are reinvesting in our economy and in our people."
The president said the law will funnel money into much-needed projects to improve the country's roads, bridges and other brick-and-mortar projects and is an investment in U.S. workers.
"We're buying American and betting on American workers," Biden said. This 'buy American' law makes the most significant investment in road, bridges and highways in 70 years."
Biden said the law will give governments a chance to remove lead pipes that are used to supply drinking water around the country, a nod to the drinking water crisis in neighboring Flint, Mich., in 2014.
"We're going to start undoing the legacy of lead, which has poisoned too many of our children," Biden said. "That means replacing 100% of lead water pipes and service lines. Every American and every child should be able to turn on their faucet and know the water they are drinking is clean and safe."
Thursday's trip is part of an ongoing effort by the president to keep the $1 trillion-plus measure in front of the voters with the key midterm elections in November.
"[Biden will] deliver remarks on how the bipartisan infrastructure law delivers for the American people by investing in clean-up and restoration efforts in the Great Lakes region and surrounding waterways," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Wednesday.
"These investments will allow for a major acceleration of progress that will deliver significant environmental, economic, health and recreational benefits for communities throughout the region, including helping people in the community access clean water."
Ohio, which was carried by former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, is expected to receive $10 billion in highway funding from the infrastructure law and $33 billion in competitive grant funding for highway and multi-modal projects.
Some $1 billion more will be provided for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
