- Sen. Ted Cruz has an issue with signage touting projects funded by the 2021 infrastructure law.
- Construction sites across the US note that projects were made possible by the Biden-signed law.
- “These displays are nothing more than campaign yard signs,” Cruz argues.
Across the United States, scores of construction sites are emblazoned with signs that read: “Project Funded By President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
For many people, it’s an innocuous notation of the thousands of projects financed by the sweeping $1.2 trillion infrastructure law Biden signed into law in 2021 and was backed by both Democrats and a sizable contingent of Republicans.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was not one of them.
Cruz is now pushing for a government probe into whether the Biden administration has run afoul of the Hatch Act by using taxpayer funds to promote the law’s impact, according to Politico.
In a letter obtained by Politico, Cruz argues that the Biden administration has “highly politicized” the infrastructure law, pointing to the signs that explicitly state that projects were made possible by the legislation and include the president’s name.
Cruz, in the letter, then argues that Biden “unilaterally rebranded” the bipartisan infrastructure law as “President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” which passed the House by 228-206 votes and the Senate by 69-30 votes.
“I write to refer this to you for investigation as a possible violation of the Hatch Act, federal law that broadly prohibits using taxpayer dollars for campaign activity,” Cruz said in the letter addressed to the Office of the Special Counsel’s Hampton Dellinger. “Congress, not President Biden, wrote [the infrastructure law], and it did not do so to aid the President’s reelection campaign.”
“These displays are nothing more than campaign yard signs courtesy of the American taxpayer,” the senator added, according to Politico.
Cruz vociferously opposed the law and voted against its passage.
White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson told Politico in a statement that the project signs “promote transparency and inform taxpayers how federal dollars are being spent.”
“If Senator Cruz were half as concerned about Texas kids getting safe drinking water as he is about signs, he might have voted for the Infrastructure Law and to send $31 billion to tackle essential infrastructure needs across Texas,” the statement added.
According to Politico, Cruz also said the “Investing in America” logo was “purposefully designed to look like the Biden-Harris campaign logo.”
The infrastructure law — by far Biden’s signature domestic accomplishment — is being touted by the president himself and Democratic candidates on the campaign trail as one of their biggest legislative wins.
The law provided federal funding for long-awaited upgrades for bridges and tunnels, highways, and rail infrastructure, among other projects.
Biden aims to set himself apart from former President Donald Trump on the issue. In 2016, Trump ran on enacting a broad infrastructure plan, but during his term in the White House, he never proposed a workable bil for lawmakers.
Still, Biden has hit a wall on the issue ahead of the November election, as some voters remain skeptical of the law’s effectiveness — while a significant slice isn’t giving him much credit for it at all.
A Politico-Morning Consult Poll conducted in April showed that 40% of registered voters gave Biden the edge on infrastructure upgrades and job creation, while 37% of respondents gave Trump the advantage. And in the seven battleground states, Biden’s edge over Trump on the issue was just six points (42% to 36%).