 Governor Larry Hogan issued the following statement after President Biden announced a bipartisan infrastructure agreement at the White House:
“Two years ago, when I launched a national initiative as leader of the nation’s governors to fix America’s crumbling infrastructure, it was with a day like this in mind.
“The bipartisan infrastructure framework that President Biden endorsed today is a historic opportunity for Maryland and for America. There is no dispute that our nation’s roads, bridges, airports, waterways, broadband, and other vital infrastructure desperately need additional investment and that we can do so without raising taxes. The only remaining question before us is whether Washington still has the will to put politics aside and to do what the American people are overwhelmingly demanding.
“I want to thank the bipartisan group in the House and Senate that forged this agreement for their hard work and partnership over the last several months. When we convened in Annapolis this April, the conventional wisdom said that a bipartisan infrastructure bill was dead, but we did not give up. Now, much of what is in this framework came directly out of our discussions. There is still more work to be done, and I am ready to do whatever I can to help get this agreement across the finish line.”
The Associated Press is reporting on how a two-party infrastructure approach came back from the dead.
While members of the House and Senate don’t traditionally coordinate on major pieces of legislation, “that began to change” with Governor Hogan’s Annapolis infrastructure summit, which forged a unified bicameral and bipartisan group. According to Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Brian Fitzpatrick, the group also agreed to “the definition of infrastructure…at the Governor’s mansion in Annapolis,” leading ultimately to largely aligned bipartisan frameworks in the House and Senate.
Governor Hogan appeared on CNBC to urge President Biden to embrace the current bipartisan infrastructure proposals in the House and the Senate, just days before President Biden gave his support.
These plans have been proposed by a bipartisan group of Senators and members of the House who Governor Hogan convened in Annapolis for two-day infrastructure summit, including Senator Joe Manchin, Senator Bill Cassidy, Senator Mitt Romney, and the chairs of the House Problem Solvers Caucus.
Governor Hogan has been focused on gaining bipartisan consensus on a federal infrastructure bill since 2019, when as Chair of the National Governors Association, he launched a national initiative on rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure. Many of the proposals of Governor Hogan’s initiative, including incentivizing public-private partnerships to pay for infrastructure, have now been adopted in the House and Senate frameworks.
According to Governor Hogan, President Biden promised the American people that he would work across party lines, and “this is our chance to do it. If we can’t come together on infrastructure, then I’m not sure we’re going to find common ground.”
AN UPDATE FROM TWITTER 
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