President Biden is kicking off the holiday season this year by delivering for North Carolinians:

• This week, President Biden and First Lady Biden visited Fort Bragg to celebrate Thanksgiving with service members and their families.

• Thanks to funding provided by President Biden and Democrats’ American Rescue Plan that ramped up COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, North Carolinians are able to gather safely with family and loved ones.

• With President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law soon to take effect, roads and bridges will be repaired and rebuilt, climate change resiliency will be strengthened, and good-paying jobs will be created for North Carolinians.

• The U.S. House’s passage of President Biden’s Build Back Better Act brings the historic legislation one step closer to delivering a once-in-a-generation, fully paid-for plan that will create good-paying jobs, combat the climate crisis, lower costs for North Carolina families. 

See below for more on President Biden’s efforts to deliver for North Carolinians: 

News & Observer: Bidens open holidays with Christmas tree and ‘friendsgiving’
Jill Biden opened the holiday season at the White House on Monday by breaking off a sprig from the official Blue Room tree and giving it — and a big smooch — to her toddler grandson. “Look how beautiful this is,” the first lady said of the 18 1/2-foot (5.6 meter) Fraser fir that was delivered by wagon to her Pennsylvania Avenue doorstep by Clydesdale horses named Ben and Winston. “It is beautiful. It’s magnificent, really,” she said. The first lady later joined President Joe Biden for a visit to the Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina to celebrate “friendsgiving” with service members and military families.

Spectrum News: N.C. Democratic Chairwoman Richardson on Biden visit

The Charlotte Observer: Build Back Better is a generational investment in North Carolina families
When the U.S. House passed the Build Back Better Act last Friday, President Biden and Democrats moved one step closer to delivering lower costs to families, uplifting the middle class, and improving the lives of North Carolinians. Watching the bill move closer to becoming law, I couldn’t help but think about my own family. Growing up as a farm girl in Franklin County, I had 17 siblings. We took care of each other and were lucky to have a community of support from our church and neighbors, but we didn’t have much. When we got out of school, we would go to the farm and help out. When my mom and dad were busy working on the farm, there was always an older sibling to take care of the younger ones. Those afternoons on the farm were our form of child care. If we didn’t have that, I’m not sure what my family would’ve done.

The Daily Reflector: Bobbie Richardson: Rural economies will benefit from Biden bill
Growing up in rural Franklin County, it was common to drive on an unpaved, dirt road. My pastor used to joke to visitors that he needed to wash their cars after they came to church… That’s why to my family and families in rural communities like the one where I grew up, when President Biden signed the infrastructure package into law this week, it meant a lot more than just repairing roads and bridges. It’s about making it easier and safer to get to work, school, and the doctor. It’s about making sure the mailman can deliver your medicine, correspondence from friends and family, and other essentials. It’s about making sure delivery trucks can provide the resources that local businesses need.

The Daily Tar Heel: Editorial: What the new infrastructure bill means for North Carolina
On Nov. 15, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, into law. Lawmakers praised the bill for investing money into roads, bridges, mass transit, rail, airports, ports and waterways… Kinston Mayor Don Hardy commented on the impact the bill will have on his city. “For towns like Kinston, the bipartisan infrastructure deal will have an incredible impact on us,” Hardy said. “The big issue for Kinston is safeguarding our infrastructure against future extreme weather events. It’s no secret that heavy rains, hurricanes, and flood events have been occurring more frequently with more intensity than they did a generation ago.” … The infrastructure bill is a massive success for North Carolinians: The bill makes critical investments into the state which will stimulate economic growth and improve our overall quality of life.

WLOS: Advocates encouraged by money going toward broadband internet expansion in North Carolina
Billions of dollars are coming to North Carolina to expand broadband internet. Last week money was passed on the local, state and national level. “I equate this to many a years ago when electricity came to homes here in Western North Carolina,” said Marc Czarnecki, a digital navigator involved with the WNC Broadband Project. Broadband advocates said it’s a long time coming… Nearly $1 billion is coming from President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This money will go toward building broadband infrastructure and promoting digital equity. IIJA also expands benefits to low income households to help pay for internet through the Affordable Connectivity Benefit.

###