President Joe Biden jumped off his plane last Thursday at the Portland Air National Guard Base and greeted Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. He was in the Pacific Northwest where in Portland he talked about his infrastructure plan on Thursday. He was in Seattle the following day on Earth Day. The president stayed in Oregon roughly four hours. He attended a Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser before leaving.
Oregon elected officials waited on Biden knowing his focus on infrastructure around the region. U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden were both in the hanger at the headquarters of the Oregon Air National Guard to speak at an event to tout the advantages of President Biden’s infrastructure spending plan and how they say it will help industries and people living and working in Oregon.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Rep. Kurt Schrader, Rep. Peter DeFazio, Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler were all there on stage. All spoke on the benefits of the president’s infrastructure plan.
President Biden arrived and took the stage. He spoke glowingly about spending on seaports and major funding for a modernization. He also talked about how his $1 Trillion infrastructure spending bill will impact Oregon. Biden said $42 million will be spent on airports, including $19 million for Portland International Airport.
He added funding for roads and bridges in Oregon to his comments on the spending packages meant to increase the availability of high-speed internet service throughout Oregon.
Portland had some traffic issue while the president was in town. North Marine Drive was closed most of the afternoon as while the presidential motorcade left one event and headed to the next.
The president arrived at the DNC fundraiser at the Portland Yacht Club, which is located a short distance from Portland International Airport, at around 3:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The president spoke to a group of about 150 attendees about infrastructure, the economy, standing strong in Ukraine, making sure the economy gets back on track.
After the fundraiser, President Biden returned to PDX before flying to Seattle on Air Force One where he observed Earth Day last Friday.
