Jarrett Renshaw, Jeff Mason

LORAIN (Ohio) -The U.S. President Joe Biden visited Ohio Thursday and announced $1 billion of funding to restore environmentally endangered areas within the Great Lakes Region. He also promised to keep his efforts to rebuild America as well as help American workers.

This was done in the context of rising Russian aggression of Ukraine and is part the White House’s effort to show the value of the infrastructure bill prior to crucial midterm election where Democrats believe a results-oriented message can help them retain power.

Biden spoke in Lorain (Ohio), which is on Lake Erie. He said that $1 billion of cleanup funds came from a bipartisan legislation signed into November. This was in addition to the largest-ever investments in roads, bridges, and highways.

The Democratic President said that he was reinvesting into our economy and our people to reclaim our leadership, creating millions of jobs and building a better America. He also promised to increase the U.S.’s competitiveness following years of declining.

Michael Regan (administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency) said that the bipartisan legislation on infrastructure was “a game changer” for the Great Lakes area communities.

Regan stated that “this is a shot to the arm of 25 sites along Great Lakes which are listed as areas in concern,” he told journalists aboard Air Force One, en route from the site.

Biden claimed that Canada and the United States had reached an agreement decades ago to clear up sites and habitats of “dangerously contaminated” Great Lakes regions. These areas border the countries and support over 1.3 million jobs.

There was much talk and a lot planning, but not much progress. It was slow. It has now changed,” he stated.

It will allow for the greatest restoration of Great Lakes history. He stated that. He said, “We are going to accelerate cleanups of sites in six states.”

According to the administration, funding will accelerate cleanups of federally-designated “Areas of Concern,” which are AOCs that were affected by decades of agricultural and manufacturing interests. The federal government expects that 22 of 25 remaining AOCs will be removed from the list by 2030.

In addition to $10 billion for Ohio’s highway projects, the infrastructure package provides more than $33 million in grant funding and competitive funding. The package also includes $60 billion to help state and local governments fund large projects.

This will be Biden’s second trip to northeast Ohio in less than a year. There are several key elections in the state this year. These include a race for governor and an closely monitored race for U.S. Senate seat to replace Rob Portman, who is retiring as a Republican.