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Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Nov. 15 attended the signing of the new bipartisan infrastructure plan in Washington, D.C.
Turner, a Democrat, was among the cadre of guests who gathered at the South Lawn at White House to watch President Joe Biden sign the $1.2 trillion measure into law.
"As the African American Mayors Association President, I was honored to witness the signing of the bipartisan infrastructure plan today in Washington DC by President @JoeBiden,” the mayor tweeted. "There’s no question the plan will supercharge our economy and help create well-paying union jobs."
The signing occurred more than a week after it passed the U.S. House of Representatives, Houston Public Media reported.
The bill, which includes $550 billion in new spending over the next half decade, intends to earmark federal funding for work to upgrade the nation’s roads, railways, bridges and broadband internet.
According to HPM, the Congressional Budget Office forecasted the package, which is funded through various financial means, to add about $256 billion to projected deficits over 10 years.
Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has been tabbed by the Biden administration to oversee infrastructure spending, to which Landrieu's former protégée, Houston City Councilwoman Abbie Kamin, hailed on social media.
“Congrats to my former boss, Mayor @MitchLandrieu!” Kamin tweeted.
Landrieu’s official title is senior advisor to the president for infrastructure coordination, per the website Axios.
Turner believes the bill is necessary since Houston, Texas’s largest and the U.S.’s fourth largest city, has nearly 20,000 miles of roads that could stand for upgrades.
”These are definitive steps that will definitely impact the City of Houston,” the mayor said before Biden signed the measure into law, Click2Houston reported. “That’s why I’m excited to be here at the White House today to witness the signing.”
According to Turner, his team is already planning citywide upgrades.