Biden touts need for US sourcing, bridge upgrades with infrastructure plans

President Joe Biden Jan. 28 reinforced the need for the US to domestically source its raw materials and focus on bridge upgrades as part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure funding package that was signed last November.

"To build a truly strong economy, we need a future that is made in America, and that means using products, parts and materials built right here in the US," Biden said during a press conference in Pittsburgh. "It means betting on American workers, and it takes a federal government that doesn't only give lip service to buying American but actually takes action."

Biden's comments during his pre-arranged event in Pittsburgh occurred hours after a bridge in the city collapsed earlier in the morning. Only minor injuries were reported from the accident.

"A bridge more than 50 years old collapsed right here in Pittsburgh that had been rated in poor condition for the past 10 years," he said, adding that about 45,000 bridges across the US are also rated in poor condition.

"We are going to rebuild that bridge along with thousands of other bridges in Pennsylvania and across the country because it is in our interest for our own safety," Biden said.

The funding in the infrastructure bill sets aside the highest monetary allocation for bridge upgrades since the Eisenhower administration, Biden said.

"We have got to get on with it, and we have got to move," he said. "We saw today when a bridge is in disrepair it can threaten lives."

US steel industry emphasizes domestic supply

US steel industry groups said the domestic sourcing of steel can protect timelines for infrastructure construction projects and ensure that sustainability goals are met.

Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip Bell said infrastructure projects are subject to lengthy regulatory and permitting processes before they can begin, so the procurement of domestic steel can prevent any further delay that may result from a dependence on imports.

"That's why it's so important that we rebuild our nation's infrastructure with domestically-produced steel," Bell told S&P Global Platts Jan. 28. "It will be the safest and greenest steel available, and it won't be subject to supply line difficulties by having to cross oceans, and we know that it'll be made to the highest standards."

Bell said the government must be sure to fully support domestic sourcing provisions to boost the domestic economy.

"It's one thing to have strong language [to buy American products], and it's another thing to have strong implementation and administration of it," he said. "What we are seeing is the realization with supply chain challenges and the emphasis on a lower carbon future, and that the way you solve those problems is by domestic procurement."

American Iron and Steel Institute CEO Kevin Dempsey said steel will benefit considerably from the infrastructure package's focus on domestic sourcing.

"Repairing and modernizing our national transportation system is essential – and improvements to roads and bridges, ports and waterways, water infrastructure, the electric grid and investing in electric vehicle systems, all will require a lot of steel," Dempsey said in a statement to Platts Jan. 28. "We appreciate that Congress and the president continue to support ensuring that our infrastructure system meets the need of the 21st century, and that American steel will be used to do so."