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Harris To Visit Pittsburgh Amid Push For Infrastructure Plan

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event to mark the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Washington.
Evan Vucci
/
AP
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event to mark the passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Washington.

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Pittsburgh on Monday with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Harris' office said.

The visit to the presidential battleground state comes as President Joe Biden's administration pushes a massive infrastructure plan in Congress. Walsh visited eastern Pennsylvania earlier in June to tout Biden's infrastructure plan.

Biden originally went to Pittsburgh on March 31 to unveil a $2.3 trillion plan in what he billed as “a once-in-a-generation investment in America" that would also undo tax cuts for corporations under Biden's predecessor, Republican Donald Trump.

Biden in late April went to Philadelphia's William H. Gray III 30th Street Station to celebrate Amtrak's 50th anniversary and his plan's aid for rail service.

Biden is hoping for a deal with Republicans who are resisting his big ideas and trimming the potential spending, but he also is trying to assure Democrats that he will not leave behind their priorities.

Pennsylvania's Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has backed Biden's plans, while Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey countered with a smaller plan that he said is more narrowly tailored to infrastructure and does not include what he called social welfare programs.

Casey called that plan a “slap in the face” because it left out funding for home and community-based services for the elderly and disabled.

Associated Press