Today the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate and passed H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The bill was brought up for a vote shortly after Democrats reached a compromise agreement on a separate $1.75 trillion budget reconciliation package that addresses the social spending priorities of the Biden Administration. The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed the House by a vote of 228–206 and is expected to be signed by President Biden.
The Historic Implication of the Infrastructure Bill
This $1.2 trillion bipartisan legislation is the culmination of decades of advocacy by ASCE members. These members worked tirelessly to educate Congress and the public about the role infrastructure plays in supporting the nation’s economy and our quality of life across diverse communities.
This infrastructure bill represents a historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our roads, bridges, water and wastewater networks, ports, electric grid, dams, and more. It increases funding, makes smart improvements to policy, such as streamlining permitting, and it creates new programs targeted at almost all 17 categories in the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.
The IIJA is a significant down payment on the $2.5 trillion infrastructure investment gap that was identified in the 2021 Report Card and will benefit American businesses and families for years to come.
What the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Funds
Specifically, the IIJA includes a reauthorization of our surface transportation programs, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, as well as an additional $559 billion in new spending. The new spending is a combination of targeted funds for overdue state-of-good repair projects as well as forward-looking programs and policies that will increase the resiliency of our infrastructure
These funds include:
- $110 billion for roads, bridges, and major projects.
- $66 billion for passenger and freight rail.
- $65 billion for broadband internet.
- $46 billion for resilience to help states and cities prepare for droughts, wildfires, climate change, and more.
- $39 billion for public transit.
- $17 billion for ports and waterways.
The bipartisan IIJA represents a hard-fought compromise agreement and a show of commitment from Congress to make a significant down payment on America’s physical infrastructure assets. It also demonstrates a commitment to giving local communities the flexibility they need to design innovative solutions for today’s complex challenges.
ASCE applauds Congress for passing the infrastructure bill and we look forward to working with the Administration to see these investments spent effectively over the coming years.
Please take a moment to thank your representative for prioritizing the nation’s infrastructure and voting ‘yes’ on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.