The president pushed his priorities of climate change and infrastructure as he promises help for thousands of storm victims in the Northeast and the South who are still digging out without power.
Tornadoes and catastrophic flooding ravaged the Northeast killing at least 51 people including three in a flooded New York basement. New video from the NYPD shows officers frantically trying to reach the family.
In New Jersey, floodwaters collapsed a basement wall, trapping two family members who did make it out alive.
Across the region, survivors pleading for help to recover.
Storm victim Dayna Camacho said, “Tell President Biden, get your checkbook out. I have a pen if he needs one. We need money.”
The president vowed support for every storm victim. “We’re going to make sure the relief is equitable and those hardest hit get what they need,” he said.
He’s also looking ahead, making the case for a massive infrastructure overhaul that can withstand more extreme weather events in a changing climate.
“Whatever damage done in New Jersey,” Biden said, “you can’t build back and restore what it was before because another tornado, another 10 inches of rain is gonna produce the same kind of results.”
In Louisiana, where Ida first made landfall, the government is working with power companies with hundreds of thousands still in the dark.
Food, gas and patience are in short supply and desperation is growing as the storm’s total death toll from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast soars past 60.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set a deadline for the end of this month to vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill President Biden has been pushing.
Progressives are threatening to reject it if they don’t get trillions more to invest in the social safety net.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.