As he tours the devastation in New York and New Jersey, President Joe Biden is hoping to showcase why his infrastructure plan, and funding, it is important. The backdrop of the muddied streets and flooded areas will be the perfect backdrop for Biden to push home his plan. The Associated Press has the story:
More than half the deaths across the East from Hurricane Ida and the storms aftermath were in NY and NJ
HILLSBOROUGH TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — President Joe Biden focused on long-term fixes as well as short-term relief Tuesday as he headed for tours of parts of the Northeast that suffered deadly flash flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
The president was expected to use the muddy backdrops during his visits to Manville, New Jersey, and the New York City borough of Queens to call for federal spending to fortify infrastructure so it can better withstand such powerful storms.
Biden’s plan to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure nationwide is pending in Congress.
“I’m hoping to be able to see the things we are going to be able to fix permanently with the bill that we have in for infrastructure,” Biden said as he left the White House, when asked what he hoped to see on the tour.
New Jersey was Biden’s first stop. Gov. Phil Murphy greeted him as he arrived in Somerset County for a briefing at the emergency management training center before the tour of Manville.
At least 50 people were killed in six Eastern states as record rainfall last week overwhelmed rivers and sewer systems. Some people were trapped in fast-filling basement apartments and cars or were swept away as they tried to escape. The storm also spawned several tornadoes.
More than half of the deaths, 27, were recorded in New Jersey. In New York City, 13 people were killed, including 11 in Queens.
Biden’s visit follows a Friday trip to Louisiana, where Hurricane Ida first made landfall, killing at least 13 people in the state, and plunging New Orleans into darkness. Power is being slowly restored.
Manville, situated along New Jersey’s Raritan River, is almost always hard-hit by major storms. It was the scene of catastrophic flooding in 1998 as the remnants of Tropical Storm Floyd swept over New Jersey. It also sustained serious flooding during the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Biden has approved major disaster declarations, making federal aid available for people in six New Jersey counties and five New York counties affected by the devastating floods. He is open to applying the declaration to other storm-ravaged New Jersey counties, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
Both New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio spent part of Labor Day touring damaged communities. Deanne Criswell, the former New York City emergency management director, now in charge at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, joined the mayor.
Biden used his appearance in Louisiana to pitch his plan, pending in Congress, to spend $1 trillion on modernizing roads, bridges, sewers and drainage systems, and other infrastructure to make them better able to withstand the blows from major storms.
“Hurricane Ida is another reminder that we need to be prepared for the next hurricane and superstorms that are going to come, and they’re going to come more frequently and more ferociously,” Biden said Friday in a hard-hit residential neighborhood in LaPlace.
Past presidents have been defined in part by how they handle such crises, and Biden has seen several weather-induced emergencies in his short presidency, starting with a February ice storm that caused the power grid in Texas to fail. He has also been monitoring wildfires in the West.
The White House has sought to portray Biden as in command of the federal response to these natural disasters, making it known that he is getting regular updates from his team and that he is keeping in touch with governors and other elected officials in the affected areas.
As president, Donald Trump casually lobbed paper towels to people in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria’s devastation in 2017, generating scorn from critics but little damage to his political standing. Barack Obama hugged New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, a brief respite from partisan tensions that had threatened the economy. George W. Bush fell out of public favor due to a poor response after Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans in 2005.
Scientists say climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events, including large tropical storms that swirl into powerful hurricanes.
Ida was the fifth-most powerful storm to hit the U.S. when it made landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 29. The storm’s remnants dropped devastating rainfall across parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, causing significant disruption in major cities.
By AAMER MADHANI and DARLENE SUPERVILLE
