Delaware leaders share celebration of Biden infrastructure bill

Sitting on the South Lawn of the White House Nov. 15, ranking Delaware legislator and Sussex County resident Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, got a firsthand glimpse of what can happen when political parties put aside rhetoric for a common cause.

“The message I got was this is what we can do when we work together,” said the Rehoboth Beach resident who serves as speaker for Delaware’s House of Representatives. “It was a scenario that you don’t often get to see.”

Schwarztkopf was in the audience as Delaware’s own President Joe Biden signed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law. The bill passed with largely Democrat votes. Thirteen House Republicans and 19 in the Senate voted for the bill that will provide money to repair the nation’s aging roads and bridges, upgrade the electrical grid and expand access to broadband internet.

Schwartzkopf said Delaware should get about $1.2 billion to repair federal highways and bridges. “I didn’t know we had 19 bridges in poor condition,” he said, adding about 250 miles of the state’s highways also received a poor rating from the Federal Highway Administration.

With a pot of money coming from the federal government that includes a push for electric vehicles to move away from gas-powered internal combustion engines, Schwartzkopf said he expects the state Legislature will need to reconsider its funding formula for highways. “A lot is funded through the gas tax, and I expect a change in the funding formula,” he said.

Although Delaware already moved ahead with a clean water fund to improve drinking water for residents, Schwartzkopf welcomes federal funds to offset the $50 million Delaware has put aside.

“This is money we can use toward that as well,” he said. “It’s money we won’t have to use from our budget.”

Schwartzkopf said he expects airports across the state, including Sussex County, to benefit from money earmarked for improvements, and federal funds will also help support the state’s mission to bring high-speed internet to all homes and businesses.

“It’s a lot of money, but it's the biggest investment in infrastructure that we’ve done in 100 years, or at least in my lifetime,” he said.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, also attended the signing ceremony, and he applauded the bill.

"President Biden's signing of the bipartisan infrastructure deal lays the foundation for many years of infrastructure improvements across the United States – from upgrades to our roads, railroads and bridges, to improving clean water, climate resiliency and access to high-speed internet," he said. "The new law will promote clean energy while producing high-quality and good-paying jobs across our state without raising taxes, and I was honored to be a part of the group that negotiated this deal."

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester said the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will make long-overdue investments in Delaware and across the country.

“I was thrilled to join President Biden and colleagues from across the political spectrum as the president signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law,” she said. “These funds will allow Delaware to make historic improvements to its surface transportation and highway infrastructure as well as its broadband and clean water initiatives. Today’s signing ceremony was proof that working together, we can still get big and important things done for our country.” 

Schwartzkopf said the ceremony was a welcome change compared to the toxic negativity that often pervades Washington, D.C. politics.

He gave a shout-out to Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, who will retire from his seat after the 2022 election, but who has worked with Schwartzkopf on many local issues over the years.

“People deserve people who they elect to compromise and work together. Ernie and I work together very well,” Schwarztkopf said. “I wish they would all remember why they were elected, and get together and work on things, but they’re too busy fighting with each other and over who gets credit.”