President Joe Biden will visit Portland Thursday to promote a $1.2 trillion infrastructure law signed last year, the White House confirmed Friday.
The federal law will bring more than $5 billion to Oregon over the next five years. State agencies have already decided how to spend some of the funds, including a recent decision by the Oregon Transportation Commission to spend $400 million on curb ramps, highway maintenance and safe walking routes.
The White House provided few details of Biden’s visit. The Oregonian first reported it, and an advisory shared by the Biden administration indicates very few reporters or photographers will be allowed to attend.
He’ll visit Seattle the following day to discuss efforts to grow the country’s clean energy economy and reduce costs for American families.
The visits come as inflation soars, especially among gasoline and grocery prices, and Biden’s approval rating continues to decrease.
Biden last visited Oregon in November 2019, for a private fundraiser for his presidential campaign. He has visited the Pacific Northwest only once as president, stopping in Boise last September to tour the National Interagency Fire Center.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Republican candidate for Oregon’s 5th congressional district, currently represented by Democrat Kurt Schrader, was quick to criticize the visit and the infrastructure bill itself, claiming it “has skyrocketed inflation, will increase the national debt and do very little to improve our infrastructure.”
“But the real reason Biden is here is to attend a fundraiser at a Yacht Club with liberal multimillionaires amidst record inflation, a southern border crisis, and crime in our streets,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.
“He should visit downtown Portland and see what his party’s extreme policies have done to destroy a once beautiful city. Common-sense Oregonians will flip Oregon’s 5th congressional district and vote for much-needed change in November and provide a check and balance on this incompetent administration.”
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