Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin to join Biden for infrastructure bill signing
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin will join President Joe Biden in Washington Monday afternoon for the signing of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package.
Biden will sign the bill at 3 p.m. at the White House, according to Benjamin’s office.
Benjamin called the invitation “bittersweet.”
“The signing of this bill into law is truly significant for our nation. But as I accepted the invitation from the White House, I was struck by the realization of its personal significance to me,” Benjamin said in a statement. “This will in all likelihood be my last visit to the White House as Mayor of our great City of Columbia.”
Benjamin is not seeking reelection as Columbia’s mayor. This week, voters will gather to choose his successor: either city councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine or councilman Daniel Rickenmann.
“Attending the signing of our nation’s largest infrastructure bill since the 1950’s is fitting, as building and improving Columbia infrastructure framework has been a major focus of myself and our Columbia City Council during my twelve years as your mayor,” Benjamin said in a statement.
Benjamin isn’t the only Columbia area official planning on attending the bill signing. Lexington town councilwoman Kathy Manness, who also serves as the president of the National League of Cities, was invited.
The infrastructure bill, which received a final vote from the House earlier this month, is slated to bring billions to South Carolina over the next five years to improve highways, bridges, water infrastructure, airports, public transportation and infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Specifically, South Carolina is set to receive a little more than $6 billion, with the largest chunk — $4.6 billion — of which will go to maintaining federal highways, according to a breakdown provided by the office of U.S. Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia.
South Carolina will get:
▪ $4.6 billion to maintain and repair federal highways
▪ $274 million to replace and repair bridges
▪ $510 million to improve water infrastructure
▪ $161 million to upgrade airports
▪ $366 million to improve public transportation
▪ $70 million to create new places for electric vehicle charging
▪ At least $100 million to expand broadband infrastructure, which could be expanded based on the state’s need
▪ $18.3 million to protect against cyberattacks
State transportation officials said last week that the legislation will help complete projects already on the state Department of Transportation’s plan. Projects include improvements at Malfunction Junction, 14 miles of road where Interstate 26, Interstate 126 and Interstate 20 connect near Columbia.
Though initially proposed by Democrats, the infrastructure bill received bipartisan support in the House and the Senate. South Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham was the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation to vote in favor of the bill.
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 at 9:33 AM.
