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President Joe Biden met with the nation’s governors Monday at the White House to discuss a wide range of topics, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy and border security.

In his opening remarks at the National Governors Association meeting, Biden largely discussed the benefits of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, passed by Congress last March and much of which is being distributed to states to spend.

“The American Rescue Plan was a lot of money,” Biden said. “And it was designed to make sure we could carry the nation forward in dealing with vaccines, boosters or creating jobs and keeping schools open and a number of other things.”

Biden also urged governors to spend some of the money on combatting violent crime, including by hiring more police officers. 

Reporters were only allowed to watch the meeting’s opening remarks. In his, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the NGA’s chairman, said he planned to ask the president about what he’s doing to tackle border security and called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide clear standards for transitioning the U.S. from pandemic to endemic status, something he said the governors were in “full agreement” about.

“We want to go from today to more normal,” said Hutchinson, a Republican.

Biden acknowledged that he still has a lot of work to do on both fronts. On COVID-19, he said his administration is “moving,” adding, “I think it’s all about making sure we have the same standards we’re applying across the board.” 

On border security, Biden said his aides are working with neighboring countries and that solving the root issues that prompt people to attempt to migrate to the U.S. is key.

Hutchinson, meanwhile, commended Biden for his push to keep schools open during the pandemic. 

“Your voice has been important from a national perspective,” Hutchinson said. 

Biden told Hutchinson, “We’re going to try like the devil to keep schools open,” noting that the American Rescue Plan includes funding for ventilation in schools, bus cleaning and more.

Hutchinson, meanwhile, asked Biden to ensure governors have a greater voice in how they spend money on infrastructure. 

“The governors are used to fixing roads,” the Arkansas governor said. “We know how to get it done. … Send us the money. Give us flexibility. We will spend it, and you can audit us.”

In addition to the American Rescue Plan, which allows for some funding to be used on infrastructure, Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law in November.

“Gov, you said send you money,” Biden told Hutchinson. “We have. We’ve sent you a whole hell of a lot of money. And we’re going to send you more, and keep using it as well as you have.

“You know how to build roads and bridges,” Biden said. “Well, we got a hell of a lot to build.”

Speaking to reporters later outside the White House, Hutchinson and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, the group’s vice chair, said the governors found “a lot of common ground” in their meetings over the weekend.

“I put infrastructure at the top of that list,” Murphy said. “And that was probably the topic that came up the most, was discussed the most and where we found an enormous amount of enthusiasm.”

Also Monday, the Biden administration rolled out a guidebook on how to access the infrastructure funding, meant to make it easier for smaller cities, tribal leaders and nonprofits to apply for funding.

“It’s an absolute road map,” said former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu of the guidebook, who is overseeing the rollout of funds from the infrastructure bill. 

Vice President Kamala Harris used her remarks at the meeting to urge governors to protect voting rights. Last year saw a wave of voting reforms passed by Republican state legislatures, spurred by former President Donald Trump’s false allegations of widespread voter fraud. 

“Regardless of who we voted for in the last election, we all, as leaders of our nation, understand the importance of ensuring that all people who are eligible to vote have an ability and a meaningful ability to vote and access to the ballot,” Harris said. “So I would ask that in this coming year, we work together to ensure that all Americans who are eligible to vote actually have meaningful access to the ballot.”