US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hailed the opportunity to highlight elements of the new $ 1 trillion infrastructure deal agreed to by Congress last week, describing it as “a big deal. “.

Watch Buttigieg’s remarks in the player above.

Buttigieg said the infrastructure bill “could not come at a more urgent time,” as it listed conditions across the country that will be impacted by reporters at the White House briefing on Monday.

President Joe Biden scored a victory lap on Saturday after his infrastructure bill was approved by Congress, winning a fierce victory over a $ 1.2 trillion bill that he says will significantly improve the lives of Americans in the months and years to come.

The Democratic president called it a “one-time investment in a generation” to tackle a range of challenges – crumbling roads and bridges, gaps in affordable internet access, water contaminated with lead pipes, houses and cities ill-prepared to deal with it. with increasingly frequent extreme weather conditions.

READ MORE: House approves $ 1,000 billion infrastructure project package and sends it to Biden

Passing the legislation has been a respite after a difficult few months for a beleaguered president whose poll counts have plummeted as Americans remain frustrated with the coronavirus pandemic and a patchy economic recovery.

In an effort to correct past messaging errors, the White House is planning an aggressive sales campaign for the infrastructure bill, with Biden planning trips across the United States to talk about the impacts of the legislation.

Biden will visit a Baltimore port on Wednesday and promises a dazzling signing ceremony for the infrastructure bill when lawmakers return to town.

“Much of this is selling because communities never needed to be persuaded that their bridge needed repair or that their airport needed an upgrade, or that their ports needed investment. “Buttigieg told reporters. “They tried to get Washington to catch up with them.”