While the grant announcement appeared timed to help Harris’ presidential campaign, Biden seemingly ignored those concerns as he followed Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore to an outdoor podium surrounded by metal shipping containers. Biden missed the opportunity to praise Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying of Moore, “I think she might be the best governor in the country.”

Biden used his speech to repeatedly criticize former president Donald Trump, dealing an indirect blow to the controversy Trump faced after attending a weekend rally in New York where racist comments were made about Puerto Rico. Biden emphasized that federal funding for ports includes Puerto Rico. At one point he even reminded himself, laughing: “Don’t go, Joe. “Slow down.”

The Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest ports on the East Coast, is a major hub for the import and export of motor vehicles and agricultural equipment. More than 20,000 workers, including unionized dockers and truckers, support port operations.

Biden said the port of Baltimore and other ports across the country “keep goods moving, keep the economy strong.” “And they employ more than 100,000 union workers, from Teamsters to longshoremen. But for too long they have been running on fossil fuels and aging infrastructure, putting workers at risk and exposing nearby communities to dangerous pollution.”

Biden said the new funding will help ports and communities across the country reduce operating costs and keep consumer prices low, while also reducing carbon pollution and supporting an estimated 40,000 new, good-paying jobs to support clean energy production across America.

“This is about environmental justice,” he added, citing studies showing higher rates of childhood asthma, cancer, lung and heart disease in residents living near U.S. ports.

The grants announced Tuesday include $147 million for the Maryland Port Authority to purchase and install cargo-handling equipment and trucks to transform the port into a zero-greenhouse gas emissions facility.

The Maryland port is among 55 ports in 27 states and territories that will receive nearly $3 billion through the Clean Ports Program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. Ports receiving money include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority, Savannah and Brunswick, Ga. In addition to the ports of Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Oakland, California.

The grants are funded by Biden’s landmark climate law, passed in 2022, which is the largest investment in clean energy in U.S. history.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said before Biden’s visit that protecting people and the environment “won’t come at the expense of a booming economy,” offering a veiled rebuke to Trump and other Republicans who complain that strict environmental regulations are hindering the economy. “The reality is that healthy communities and a strong economy go hand in hand,” Regan said.

The grant announcements, which follow $31 million in federal funds to rehabilitate part of the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore, come a week after the owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the fatal bridge collapse agreed to pay more than $102 million in cleanup costs for construction . To resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The agreement does not cover any damages related to the reconstruction of the bridge, which could cost close to $2 billion. The state of Maryland filed its own lawsuit for these damages, among others.

Funding provided through the Clean Ports program will reduce planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions by more than 3 million metric tons, equivalent to the energy use of about 400,000 homes for a year, Regan said. It will also remove 12,000 short tons of nitrogen oxides and other harmful pollutants, he said.

John Podesta, the White House senior adviser for international climate policy, said the donations would help fulfill Biden and Harris’ promise to “rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, combat the climate crisis, and improve communities that bear the brunt of pollution.” .”

In February, EPA announced two separate funding opportunities for U.S. ports; a competition to directly fund zero-emission equipment and infrastructure, and a separate competition for climate change and air quality programs. More than $8 billion in requests were received from applicants across the country.

Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California welcomed the grant announcement, which includes more than $1 billion for seven California ports. The Port of Los Angeles will receive $411 million, the largest award in the country.

“California ports move the goods that power our economy,” Padilla said Tuesday, noting that the state’s ports process about 40 percent of all containerized imports and 30 percent of U.S. exports. Padilla said the EPA grants will help decarbonize the U.S. supply chain “to produce cleaner air in neighboring communities and meet our climate goals while creating green jobs.”