Biden's infrastructure coordinator lists climate, equity ahead of 'blue-collar jobs' on implementing law

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Media top headlines December 8

In media news today, CNN's Don Lemon avoids mentioning court testimony that he tipped Jussie Smollett off about police, a New York Times reporter scolds airline travelers for faulty mask-wearing, and the White House and CNN tout a Washington Post column claiming Biden gets worse media coverage than Trump.

President Biden's infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu listed "climate" and "equity" ahead of labor and blue-collar jobs while discussing White House priorities on implementing the newly inked infrastructure law.

Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" he had spoken with dozens of mayors and left messages with every governor in the country on proper allocation of the $1.2 trillion package.

Mitch Landrieu gestures ahead of a ceremony where President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act at the White House on Nov. 15, 2021. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

"What the president's asking us to do is use this policy to rebuild the country," he said. "This is a three-, five-, 10-year proposal. He also said, ‘Look, we’re going to build a better America.' … We need to think about climate. For those of us that are from the south, we know this really, really well. Of course resilience, and building back in a way that's stronger and better.

"Also, for communities that have been left out, he said secondly, equity is critically important. We cannot leave anybody behind. Third, blue-collar jobs, so he wants labor involved in this in a big way with workforce training. And then he said he wants to rebuild America's industrial base by investing in Made in America products."

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Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package into law last month, which passed with mostly Democratic votes but also garnered Republican votes in both chambers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the signing ceremony for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act at the White House on Nov. 15, 2021. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

The law in part addresses roads, bridges, and expanding broadband, but critics have charged it will not create so-called "shovel-ready jobs" and was wasteful when money was still yet to be spent from the coronavirus relief bill Biden signed earlier this year.

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Biden is still seeking to push through the nearly $2-trillion Build Back Better package, a sweeping social policy bill, which covers a range of issues from climate to health care to education. It has passed in the Democratic-controlled House but faces an uphill climb in the Senate, where moderates have raised concerns over its price tag.