Thinks he needs to protect property. He says he wants to put out a fire, but the first thing he does is drop the Fire Extinguisher on the ground. His ar15 isnt going to put out a fire. So why is he really there . And we all agree you cant use or threaten deadly force to protect someone elses property. You are here to decide whether or not his actions are legally justified, not to buy pathetic excuses that might be given to you. As a teacher, when a student says to you, the dog ate my home work, thats an excuse. It doesnt get you out of the home work assignment. If you panic in a situation that is not reasonable, that is an excuse. It is not a legal justification. If youre 17, if you dont have training or experience, if you put yourself in a situation where youre in over your head, if youre scared, those are excuses. Those are not legal justifications to kill. They do not erase your personal responsibility for your own actions. The court has read to you the instructions in this case. They lay out the law that you should apply. That reading took a long time, and i understand there was a lot to digest. One of the things that you will have the opportunity to do when you go back and deliberate is read through those instructions yourselves. Because i get that listening to them doesnt always make it clear. But i encourage you to focus on some things when you consider the defendants behavior in this case. You are told that criminally reckless conduct is conduct that threatens other peoples lives and poses an unreasonable and substantial risk to other people. There is no dispute the defendants activities here threatened other peoples lives, he took two lives. This is not like a normal murder case. A lot of murder cases were in here trying to convince the jury the defendant tried to kill somebody. Thats not in dispute here. Thats the easy part. The question is, does he get a pass . Do we think thats okay . Do we think what he did was right . Thats the question you have to answer. And when you consider whether his conduct was criminally reckless, consider, did it pose an unreasonable and substantial threat to the safety of others . Comp 4 charges him with firstdegree, intentional homicide of Anthony Huber. There is no doubt that the defendant intended to kill Anthony Huber or committed conduct that he knew was practically certain to kill Anthony Huber. That gun was pointed at Anthony Hubers left lower rib cage, and the defendant deliberately pulled the trigger. That was no accident. When you do that with an ar15 against somebodys body, it is practically certain to kill them. We all know this case comes down to selfdefense. But there is a high bar for using deadly force in a selfdefense situation. The law says that the defendant may intentionally use force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if the defendant reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself. So did Joseph Rosenbaum pose an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to the defendant . No way. Did Anthony Huber pose an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to the defendant . Absolutely not. Did jumpkick man or jade . No. None of these people posed an imminent threat to the defendants life or to cause great bodily harm. The standard, when you make this decision, is what a person of ordinary intelligence and prudence would have believed in the defendants position under the circumstances that existed at the time of the alleged offense. The reasonableness of the defendants innocence must be established at the time of the defendants acts and not from the viewpoint of the jury now. So put yourself in the defendants position. Would you have done the same thing . Would a reasonable person have done the same thing . Would you have engaged in the reckless conduct that led to this course of events . Would you have gone out after curfew with an ar15 looking for trouble . Would you have aimed at other people . Would you have tried to use the gun to protect an empty car lot . No reasonable person would have done these things. The court has also instructed you on provocation. You cannot hide behind selfdefense if you provoked the incident. If you created the danger, you forfeit the right to selfdefense. By bringing that gun, aiming it at people, threatening peoples lives, the defendant provoked everything. And if he does that, he has to exhaust all reasonable means to avoid a confrontation, all reasonable means. So if Joseph Rosenbaum is running at him, Joseph Rosenbaum no threat to his life. Not only is the defendant expected to run, hes expected to yell, push, shove that rag doll around, run back for help, call 911, call for help, do all sorts of other things besides just turn and fire four shots as Joseph Rosenbaum falls, helpless, to the ground. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no doubt in this case that the defendant can committed these crimes. He committed a firstdegree reckless homicide against Joseph Rosenbaum. He put Richmond Mcguinness life in jeopardy, he intended to kill Joseph Rosenbaum, he intended to kill Anthony Huber. The question is whether you believe his actions were reasonably justified. I submit to you that no reasonable person would have done what the defendant did. And that makes your decision easy. Hes guilty of all counts. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Mayer. Lets take a break and about 2 25, hopefully, and please dont talk about the case or watch anything regarding the case. Were on a break. Youve been listening to the coverage of the Kyle Rittenhouse double homicide trial. The prosecution finishing their presentation. The defense will be up next. While we do that, were outside the courthouse and also with us Civil Rights Attorney and cnbc contributor. David, i want to start with you, because in watching the prosecutions case, he was really trying to make it that Kyle Rittenhouse was not the only one who was fearing for their life on that night, that Kyle Rittenhouse himself was the aggressor and that Kyle Rittenhouse should not be the only one who is able to claim selfdefense. How effective do you think that was . I think its the most effective thing the prosecution has done so far. As a matter of fact, watching Closing Arguments, i found myself wondering, where has this guy been the entire time during this trial. Essentially his argument is, look, Kyle Rittenhouse is guilty, and if you believe what hes saying, then hes really guilty, because the same gun laws that apply to him apply to everyone else, and they should have been framing the case that way from the beginning. The only thing you have to worry about is whether its too late to give the jury this Point Of View which should have been salt and peppered during this course of the trial. What do you think the defense could come back with to counteract that . I think they come back with what theyve been saying the entire time, that you cant look at this with hindsight, that you have to look at Kyle Rittenhouses Point Of View it that Kyle Rittenhouse is facing at the time when hes out there. The defense, if they have one person on that jury who owns a gun who tends to believe, as many gun owners do, that if you even so much as suggest that youre trying to reach for my gun, that constitutes lethal force, and im allowed to use my gun to shoot and kill you. That is wrong, that is not the law, but many gun owners who carry guns believe that. In looking at that, lets talk about wisconsin specifically and the burden of proof there, the idea that it is on the prosecution to prove that Kyle Rittenhouse was not working under the idea of selfdefense. Talk to me about how much harder it is to get a prosecution with that. Absolutely. Its harder in these cases because most people dont understand the gun laws. Its difficult because you have to prove the case once the defense raises some evidence, you have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their defense is not applicable. Its hard to do not simply because of what the law says, but people get confused with the law and selfdefense. You saw it this morning. The judge and the courtroom was confused about the laws of selfdefense. If its confusing to them, how will it be for the jury . How about throwing out charges against Kyle Rittenhouse and giving specific Jury Instructions . Lets talk about that charge because it happened in an almost understated way. It seems like it was based on a technicality of the length of that gun. It gets very technical and a little bit confusing over exactly whats there, but the judge dismissed that fifth count. It was the lowest count there, a misdemeanor with about nine months in prison as the maximum consequence there, but the judge dismissed that once you heard attorneys kind of go back and forth on that count and the details there. But he also went through extensive Jury Instructions but its complicated. The jury will have a lot to go through, a lot of legal text to go through. He wanted to make this as simple as possible for them, but he wanted to have them explain it, have jurors step out at one point and go back to the attorneys and make sure the language was crystal clear. Thats something thats crucial to this, because as you know, now that the Closing Arguments have been wrapped up by the prosecution, it will go to the defense, and then this will be in the hands of the jury, and that is what theyre going to base their decision off of. One other point i should make for you, katy, is when we went through what we got from the pool notes, what you see inside the courtroom there, you saw at one point the prosecution play some graphic video, show some graphic images. At one point he acknowledged that it was graphic and said, dont turn away from this, this is what happens when a 17yearold goes with an ar15 and shoots someone. Those were his words that he was using. According to pool notes, the jury became a little bit uncomfortable, at least visually. Some of them turned away despite the suggestion that you shouldnt turn away. You see the impact thats having. This is something that gets very graphic, its a very serious thing theyre discussing right now and youre seeing jurors react to it inside the courtroom, according to those pool notes. We saw it on television, one of the images of a mans arm, his bicep, being blown off. It was quite graphic. What is the effect of having an image that graphic in your Closing Arguments . Katy, thats always tough to tell, and really it turns on the personalities of the people that are making up this jury. Sometimes it can go both ways. Some jurors will feel its compelling evidence, others will think youre manipulating them to see the case their way. Ive tried a dozen cases and weve watched the jurors and tried to guess who is thinking what, and theres simply no science to it, it is all art. What i think is necessary here is for the prosecution to drive some of those facts home because i dont think theyre completely at the forefront of the jurys mind based on the way they presented this evidence during the course of the trial. There is a lot of debate whether or not its a good idea to put the defendant on the stand. Kyle rittenhouse was quite emotional when he was on the stand. There is obviously a lot of debate out there in social media about how effective that was. From your standpoint, or how much of a disadvantage is the defense having now, having put Kyle Rittenhouse on the stand . Was it a good idea, was it a bad zd. Idea . At the beginning of the trial, i thought they had to put him on the stand. Now i think its a bad idea, and i think it helped him more than hurt him. This is the same tactic with showing graphic material during the trial. Some people will look at him and say, you know what, he looks like hes just a kid. Hes clearly broken up about what happened. Other jurors would say, you know what, hes been sitting here all week and i didnt see any tears until he stood up here. He starts crying because of the threat that rosenbaum caused to him. If it was enough to make him crack, you would i think he would have done that sooner. Chuck, whats it flik kenosha right now . Katy, this is something that has a lot of attention. There is a large Media Presence right outside the courthouse. There are protesters at the courthouse. This is completely different than what you had in the days after joshua blake died. You had National Guard not just activated as they are here, but you had them actually deployed. You saw those arm orred vehicles. There are a couple businesses that have decide to do floor up, but its nothing like it was last august and its a much different sense of tension. The tension is. Its not that big Protest Presence you had back in july. What is the state doing once this is read . There are about 500 members of the National Guard that are activated. That means theyre ready to be deployed. According to a statement from the governors office, theyre essentially standing by right now once that request comes in from local authorities. There is that degree there. Some people are talking about they are watching it, but its much different than you saw with the level of tension when this incident originally happened. Gentlemen, thank you very much. Were also watching the white house where President Biden is set to sign that massive Infrastructure Bill into law this hour. Were going to go live there in just a moment. G to go live ther just a moment. With downy infusions, let the scent set the mood. Feel the difference with downy. Why give your family just ordinary eggs when they can enjoy the best . Egglands best. The only eggs with more fresh and delicious taste. Plus, superior nutrition. Because the way we care is anything but ordinary. 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Right now were taking you to the white house where President Biden will sign the 2. 5 trillion Infrastructure Bill into law. Shannon pettypiece is at the white house, shilom kippur, and we have Washington Bureau chief susan page. Lets start with shannon. This is a big deal for the white house. The president s Approval Rating is pretty near the bottom right now. They want a win. This is their win. How does this white house plan to go around the country and make sure voters know that what theyre getting is a result of President Biden . Reporter well, katy, i think how they sell this package today and in the coming days, its going to be crucial for democrats heading into 2022. At least thats what democratic strategists believe. They hope to use this bill as well as this other Safety Net Bill theyre trying to get through congress as a real selling point for why the American People should give democrats another two years in control of congress. I think a couple themes to listen for today will be, one, the president talking about the bipartisan nature of this. This was designed to be a bipartisan event. There are going to be some key republicans there. Senator mitt romney, for example. But some other key republicans wont be in attendance, like Senate Minority leader mitch mcconnell. Another theme, look for the president to try to make this tangible to people, to talk about the things in their life, Broadband Internet access, lead pipes, new bridges and roads, so people can get a sense of how this will affect their lives. That will be a hard thing to break through, because things on peoples minds right now are not roads and bridges, its the economy, jobs, inflation and covid, katy. This is a bipartisan deal that the white house is going to be celebrating today. Sahil on capitol hill, there is another bill that is not bipartisan that nancy pelosi wants to get through the house and is hoping to get through the senate as well. Its going to be a bit harder there. Talk to me about the politics that will transfer from this signing into what were seeing over there on capitol hill. Yeah, absolutely, katy. I think democrats got a little bit of good news today when the Congressional Budget Office said just a couple hours ago that it will release a completed Cost Estimate of the build back better bill which bodes well for its prospects in the house. The cbo says it will come out with that this week, by friday. Thats important because House Democrats have said they want that additional fiscal information from the Budget Office before they cast that vote. As long as the numbers match up and are generally consistent with the white house estimates that says this bill is paid for, it should sail through the house of representatives. Five lawmakers, thats a small group, but thats enough democrats to kill this bill, which shows you how narrow Speaker Pelosis margins are. The Infrastructure Bill was about resolving differences between the two parties over things that sound basic but can get pretty contentious around here, like how much to spend Public Transit, how much to spend on whatever is in there. A fourth vote would take it down, and say it does pass the house this week, it goes over to the senate where majority leader Chuck Schumer has zero votes to spare. It has to go through a procedural series of hoops, it has to have this endless variroma. Its got a Long Way To Go and its going to be a different set of challenges, but between these two, it will be a monumental achievement between biden and the republicans if he can pull it off. Seeing the results from this current package is obviously going to take some time. Stephanie ruhle, my good friend. Good to see you. Great to see you. One of the things people are waiting expectantly to get resolved is the bottlenecks at the ports, the bottlenecks with the supply chain. How quickly is this bill going to address that, and is it going to adequately address what were seeing right now . Its going to take some time, and lets be clear, in peoples everyday lives, theyre not thinking about ports and Supply Chains. Theyre thinking about prices and can they get the goods they want and need. And while this Infrastructure Bill is going to address the supply chain issues, its not going to solve it overnight. Inflation is the number one thing on peoples minds right now, so there is going to be that lag time and there are things out of the president s control. This is about Monetary Policy and the fed and keeping rates at zero. This Infrastructure Bill obviously doesnt address that. This is a huge positive. Shannon laid out all the things it does for people across the country. A very big positive, but thats happening at a time when youve got people talking inflation, inflation, inflation. Its a tricky one. Very tricky. Lets go to nbc political analyst Julian Julian castro. Please excuse me. This is the first time ive seen anyone in person and its been nearly two years. Its so good to have you. Its like a who will different world now. Lets talk about what were seeing today, the politics of it. The Biden Administration is in a hairy spot. The Approval Rating from the Washington Post and abc is pretty darn low. How do they turn it around . Can they . I think they can. They still have a year until the midterms. We know that this was a big win for President Biden, right . Trump talked about infrastructure week for four years, didnt get it done, biden finally comes and gets it done. At the same time he sees that he gets this done, still sees he has the lowest poll number and that even approval among democrats has been slipping. Thats why what you see today is so important. You notice that this is really a show of force and a show of unity. He has Senator Sinema speaking, im sure hell have Senator Manchin speaking, that he has everyone behind this build back better package that he hopes will pass. Its about getting it out there, showing accomplishment, getting people to work and showing those numbers climbing back up. One of the things people dont like is covid is not going away. Theyre tired of the mask mandates. Theyre tired of having to live their life differently. I know the Biden Administration can only do so much with that given where we are with vaccines and given where the virus goes. How much are they going to be held hostage by the virus when it comes to 2022 . Theres no question. There is a lot of covid fatigue, and also its been so unpredictable. We thought a year ago we were going to see the end of the tunnel, and then the Delta Variant hit just a few months ago. We think were only a few months, weeks away from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but there could be another outbreak of covid. Still, there you look at the mechanics of whats happening now. We have 5 to 11yearolds that are getting vaccinated. We have less and less of these hot spots and covid in general has been receding. There is a pill that may get fda approval for treatment for when people do get covid so its less deadly, along with increasing vaccination rates. All of those things should give the administration confidence that the Covid Landscape is going to be very different 11, 12 months from now when people will be voting in the 2022 midterms. Lets listen in to senator Kirsten Sinema who there has been a lot of focus on. Lets listen to what she has to say. More globally competitive without raising taxes on everyday americans. You may have heard less about new policies in our bill that do not grab the same Media Attention but will make a big difference. States like arizona that are confronting historic drought will see billions of dollars to strengthen Water Systems throughout the american west. Communities will see historic investments to prevent and recover from wildfires. Land ports of entry, Key National Security infrastructure and commercial hubs will see major upgrades. And our bill makes significant investments in tribal communities infrastructure, including all necessary funding to complete authorized indian water rights settlements. Beyond historic financial resources, our plan includes a significant update of transportation policy. From strengthening Public Transit in midsized communities to new technologies for impaired driving, for infrastructure policy, our legislation represents the substantive policy changes that some have said are no longer possible in todays senate. How many times have we heard that bipartisanship isnt possible anymore, or that important policy can only happen on a party line. Our legislation proves the opposite. And the senators who negotiated this Legislation Show how to get things done. The senators in our group of ten effectively represented the needs of the agents we represent. Senator warner in the midatlantic. Senator tester in the west. In the north in alaska were greatly represented by senators shaheen, collins and murkowski, the wonder women in our group always focused on the practical outcomes. And i sincerely thank my partner in coleading this long effort, senator rob portman, whose knowledge of the federal budget is matched only by his steadfast commitment to delivering on this priority for america. Delivering this legislation for the American People. This is what it looks like when elective leaders set aside differences, shut out the noise and focus on delivering results on the issues that matter most to everyday americans. I look forward to the work that we will all do together to implement this historic legislation. Thank you. [ applause ] please welcome senator rob portman. Kyrsten, thank you very much, and its been great being your partner in this. We heard President Biden say this bill would impact every single american. And this is true. Its true today and its true for every decade to come. I want to thank you all gathered here today for the role you played in making this possible. This is what can happen when republicans and democrats decide were going to Work Together to get something done. [ applause ] the bipartisan process that started in historic investment began about a year ago when my colleague, Senator Sinema, was absolutely key to us being here today. We met and financed the additional Biden Infrastructure Plan which included Tax Increases and also investments in socalled human infrastructure. By removing the tax hikes and shrinking the package to only Core Infrastructure, we found the opportunity to find bipartisan consensus on finally fixing our nations outdated infrastructure. And from there the group quickly grew to the g10 negotiators. They were just mentioned but i have to mention them again. Senators susan collins, mitt romney, lisa murkowski, jean shaheen, mark warner and jon tester. Five republicans and five democrats. It ultimately grew to 22 senators evenly divided by party and a partnership with the house Problem Solvers Caucus led by Brian Fitzgerald and josh gottheimer. Please give them a round of applause. [ applause ] senator mitch mcconnell, to his credit, supported our efforts to find a way forward, and eventually lent his critical support. Shelly moore capito helped lead the foundation of our success in her Committee Work with senator tom carper. [ applause ] our work was guided by a few simple processes. Instead we agreed this would be a truly bipartisan process, working from the middle out, not the top down. There were plenty of bumps along the way, but we got there because we were all committed to ultimately delivering a result for the constituents we represent. We also got there because a lot of smart, hardworking staff, as usual. I want to commend my team as well as the staff of our g20 members. I want to thank the Staff Members led ably by Steve Shahetti and steve deese. By making infrastructure a real priority in his administration, President Trump furthered the discussion and helped republicans like me think differently about the positive impact of investment in Core Infrastructure. And Core Infrastructure is what this law is all about. Its about roads and bridges and rail and transit and airports and Water Systems, electric grid, broadband and more. Weve got a major bridge in my hometown, and its also a major bottleneck, desperately in need of replacing. Weve been trying to do it for 25 years but we havent been able to pull together the funding and figure out how to do it. This law finally gives us what we need to fix the bridge and Major Projects all around the country. Thats why you see so many of my colleagues here from every region of the country, because they know this is going to help to create more productivity. This longterm investment in our Nations Capital assets will grow the economy because of that efficiency and productivity. It will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. It will make us more competitive against countries like china who are investing heavily in infrastructure, much more than we have been. Maybe most importantly, the time of searching inflation and longterm investments is actually going to help. Inflation happens when demand outlasts supply. Ports and fleet rail and bridges and other assets, it will help on the supply side. Thats why economists say this bill is counter to that one. Farmer are facing everything from highpriced gas to groceries. There are reduced timelines for Infrastructure Projects while maintaining safety standards. We want Infrastructure Projects to be finished as quickly as possible and under budget. This bipartisan support for this bill, only because it makes sense for our constituents, but the approach from the center out should be the norm, not the exception. Increasing polarization of our country is keeping us from getting things done, and we have a responsibility to do better. The American People want to see us coming together. They know that despite our differences, we should be able to figure it out and Work Together to solve big problems. We can start by recognizing that finding Common Ground to advance the interests of the American People should be rewarded, not attacked. Mr. President , in a moment youre going to sign this bill. I will say that you and i will disagree on the tax and spending and the other priority you have, the reconciliation bill, but i think we can both agree that this Infrastructure Investment shouldnt be a onetime bipartisan accomplishment. It should be the beginning of a renewed effort to Work Together on big issues facing our country. Again, i want to thank everybody who is here today for what you did to make this possible. Thank you. [ applause ] please welcome Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer. Thank you thank you, mr. President , for inviting us to the white house. Thank you to Vice President harris, my colleagues in attendance, all of you, and Senator Sinema, portman and Speaker Pelosi. For years americans were promised that an Infrastructure Bill was coming. Today were telling the American People that an Infrastructure Bill is finally here. Thank you, President Biden [ applause ] at the start of this year, we faced our challenges with boldness and courage. Now theyre getting one of the largest Infrastructure Bills ever. To paraphrase one of my favorite former Vice President s, its a big fing deal. There isnt a community in america, not a city, not a town or rural hub that doesnt have some glaring Infrastructure Problem requiring immediate attention. Busted roads make it harder for people to get to work. Dilapidated schools make it harder for students to learn. Hurting businesses, raising prices on consumers and hurting our economy. If america is to compete in this century, we cant do it with an infrastructure thats stuck in the last century. This Infrastructure Bill will help us meet the challenges of our time, strengthen our crucial Supply Chains and lay the foundation for another generation of economic prosperity. This bill can be summed up by a fourletter word jobs. Jobs, jobs and more local jobs, more goodpaying jobs, more union jobs. [ cheers and applause ] this bill will benefit every state, every state, in very significant ways. In new york, my new york, Major Projects have been stalled for so long like gateway, the bronx expressway, the Second Avenue subway, the i81 in sir could you say, the loop in rochester will all have the ability to get going. There are projects as important as these in every state across the country. Todays Infrastructure Bill will also begin the necessary efforts to prevent the worst of climate change, putting thousands of americans to work by investing in resilience in our buildings and crucially beginning our task to make americas Transportation System clean. It will finally bring millions of americans on line with highspeed internet, both in rural and underserved communities. New york alone still has more than 1 million households without access or subscription to broadband. Well also help eliminate lead pipes in our water system, so one day parents wont have to worry if our kids are getting sick every time they turn on the faucet. Cities like rochester still have 25,000 lead pipes that need replacement, 25,000. And todays legislation will also make driving safer in america. It will require new cars to install drunk driving prevention technology, and it will make dangerous, largely unregulated vehicles, safer to be on the road. In the audience today, we have a great new yorker, my friend kevin cushing. Kevin, where are you in this big crowd . There he is. His son patrick died three years ago when he and 19 friends from the amsterdam, new york area were celebrating a birthday and they were killed in a limo crash in stahare. As the president deeply understands, that is a loss that no parent should endure. It was horrific, preventable tragedy stemming from outdated federal rules that allowed a limo to be where it shouldnt be. Every day since that accident, they have pushed every single senator to support changes in our laws to make these vehicles safer to ride in. Today their perseverance has paid off. Kevin, my friend, it was an honor to fight alongside you, and today patrick is smiling down with pride. [ applause ] so, mr. President , thank you for your leadership in achieving this longtime goal on a bipartisan basis. Thank you to my longtime colleagues who pushed this Infrastructure Bill over the finish line, including our Committee Chairs and Speaker Pelosi and everyone who reached across the aisle on this bipartisan achievement. Todays signing is a major and historic step forward, and we will keep working with you, mr. President , to build on tolds success by passing the rest of your build back better agenda in the weeks ahead so we can keep our promises to help families achieve the american dream. Thank you, everybody. This is a great day for america. Please welcome Speaker Of The House nancy pelosi. [ cheers and applause ] good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much to everyone who made today possible. I especially want to acknowledge President Biden for the glorious vision and the great commitment that he had to bring this legislation forward for the people. It is a great achievement. Thank you, mr. President. When our nation was experiencing the depths of pandemic and economic crisis, you knew, mr. President , that we needed not only to recover, but we had to seize the opportunity to build back better. Following your vision, Congress Passed the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act, an historic step to rebuild the infrastructure and the middle class. Your agenda is historic, transformative and the biggest bold investment in the history of our country. I want to talk about the history for a moment. The very first major Infrastructure Investment was president thomas jeffersons. He passed the Galatin Project to rebuild the infrastructure to reach our evergrowing nation, evolving in the erie canal and other initiatives. Then through president lincoln and through legislation from congress, america watched the Transcontinental Railroad connecting the country from coast to coast. On the 100th Anniversary of the Galatin Project, president Theodore Roosevelt handed down the patronage of our country. Then the international highway system, initially a National Security initiative, but significantly connecting america for commerce and communities. And today, mr. President , with the stroke of your pen, we will take a giant step to achieve your vision to build americas roads, bridges, Water Systems and so much more, creating goodpaying union jobs, ensuring clean air and clean water, delivering better Quality Of Life with equity, helping businesses thrive and turbocharging our global competitiveness, connecting communities again through the internet and making america safer as we protect our planet. And we do so Building Back better. This historic achievement was possible thanks to so many who have been acknowledged already, honors to all of them, to our chairs, members and staff who, at every step, brought a depth of commitment and valued leadership thats making a difference. Especially i salute In The House Infrastructure Chair peter defazio, an Office Related to infrastructure and sustainability. I do want to acknowledge mr. Clyburn who was taking great pride, i think almost blushing when our guest from the carolinas was talking about broadband especially, but among other things. Thank you, mr. Clyburn, for your leadership in all of that. May i just say and associate myself with the Closing Remarks of mr. Schumer. This is a great accomplishment, and there is more to come. Im so happy that hopefully this week we will be passing build back better to get tax cuts to americas working families, to create millions more jobs, to Lower Health Care costs and all of it paid for by making everyone pay his or her own fair share. The president was saying in glasgow that americans were wanting the build back better agenda and the president said america is back. With President Bidens signature, we show our countrys leadership for ourselves, for our people and for the world. Thank you, mr. President , and thank you for all you do. [ applause ] announcer ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, accompanied by the Vice President of the united states, and heather curtainback, a member of iron workers local 86. [ applause ] announcer please welcome heather curtainback. In a moment. [ laughter ]. Please have a seat. President biden, speakers nancy pelosi, majority leader Chuck Schumer, cabinet members, congressmembers, governors, and mayors, and and my fellow americans, this is an historic day. In the middle of the civil war, president Abraham Lincoln started construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. In the middle of the great depression, president Franklin Roosevelt finished construction on the hoar dam. President eisenhower signed the International State and Defense Highways Act in the middle of the cold war. And today and today, President Biden will sign the infrastructure and jobs act into law. [ applause ] indeed, it is an historic day today. From the very start of our administration, we were determined to follow through, not just on our promise to invest in our nations infrastructure, but on the promises that the American People have heard for years now. And we would not be here today were it not for your leadership, mr. President. From the very start, you welcomed democratics, independents, and republicans to meet with us in the oval office. You welcomed ideas. You welcomed debates. All in the service of getting this bill done. And here is what i know to be true, mr. President. You are equal parts believer and builder. And because you are, we are all better off. On behalf of our nation, thank you, mr. President. [ applause ] and of course, our administration did not arrive at this day by ourselves. We are also here because of leaders in the house and the senate, who worked on this bill together, who voted for this bill. And we are here because of the millions of americans who believed that we could get this done. Well, we got it done, america. We got it done. In many ways, this day embodies our character as a nation. It demonstrates exactly who we are. We are believers through and through. We see what could be, unbeardened by what has been. We are as bold as we are determined to do big things. The Infrastructure Investment and jobs act proves that. It proves that in america we have the courage to believe a Better Future is possible and to build it together. After this bill is signed into law, millions more americans will go to work in goodpaying, Good Union Jobs. [ applause ] americans like joe von johnson, a carpenter i met in nevada who said that she has, quote, built her career on infrastructure, and fed her family on infrastructure. Americans like jeff bird, a line design technician i met within new hampshire. He attaches fiber to Utility Poles to keep up with the demand for highspeed internet. Or alsoly kilgore, an engineer i met with in north carolina, whose team is building electric school buses, or walter cody, a construction inspector with whom i met who is working to get clean water to families in the california. This will be a nationwide effort, the likes of which we have not seen in a generation. It will make our country more competitive. And it will deliver on our nations and our administrations commitment to equity. Now, this bill, as significant as it is, as historic as it is, is part one of two. [ applause ] to lower costs and cut taxes for working families, to tackle the Climate Crisis at its core, Congress Must also pass the build back better act. [ applause ] the work of building a more Perfect Union did not end with the railroad or the interstate. And it will not end now. So, on this historic day, let us all continue to believe in our people, believe in our country, and believe in what we can do when we Work Together. Thank you all. May god bless you. And may god bless america. Announcer please welcome heather curtainback. Thank you, madam Vice President. As a proud iron worker from local 86 in seattle, washington, i am honored to be here at the white house on this historic day for workers like me and our country. I am an elected leader in my local union as a Business Agent and active in the Sisters Committee which mentors newer iron workers. Before i got where i am today however i had to overcome some challenges. In 2005 he was released from incarceration. While incarcerated i was able to work on a wildland Fire Fighting crew, sometimes heading out in the middle of the night to fight fires that experience taught me a powerful work ethic and gave me lasting friendships. When i got out of prison, however, doors were closed to me. I searched for a job for six months with no offers. Finally, as a lastditch effort i asked my brotherinlaw, a Union Iron Worker how he made a living. He told me go to union and apply. You could totally do this work. And im so glad that i did. I was accepted into [ cheers and applause ] thank you. Yeah. I was accepted into the apprenticeship and went right out to a rebar job. I loved working rods, and i fit right into the trade. I graduated from my Aprint Tisship at an uncertain time, the Great Recession 12 years ago was more of a depression for the construction industry. Many of my fellow journeymen workers, coworkers, couldnt find work. Luckily, the obama Biden Administration passed the recovery act that created a vital lifeline of jobs the economy recovered. Just like this Infrastructure Law will do for workers today, enabling them to rebuild america and take care of their families over the coming years. Roads and bridges, rail, transit, airports, water, a whole generation of our nations infrastructure will be built creating Good Union Jobs for people just like me. It invested in historically disadvantaged communities, creating jobs and communities for people of every race, gender, and background. Im proud to stand here today and represent the most diverse Labor Movement in history. Nearly half of my locals apprentices are women or people of color. [ applause ] and this law empowers unions to keep building the middle, leaving no one behind. Most of all, im proud to stand here as an american in this moment. In our line of work, you have to trust one another to get the job done. And throughout this process, i knew we could trust someone to get this law done. Someone who understands what workers like me are going through, and who always believes in us and what we can do, if given a chance. I never imagined in a million years that i would be standing here today. Yeah. But thats whats great about america. Thank you. [ applause ] oh, thank you. Thank you