In March, President Biden introduced the American Jobs Plan, a $2.3 trillion proposal geared to restore and upgrade the nation’s infrastructure. The introduction of the American Jobs Plan kicked off months of negotiations between the White House and key Senators from both sides of the aisle to develop an infrastructure package that could pass the nearly evenly divided Senate. The result of those negotiations is a bipartisan infrastructure proposal that was developed by 22 Senators, nearly evenly split between the two parties, and would represent a significant achievement of the Biden Administration.
Last week, Senate negotiators announced that had agreed upon legislative text, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which allowed the Senate to vote on a motion to proceed and open debate on the package. The motion to proceed passed with 67 votes, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats to move the bill forward, a strong indicator of support as the bill is debated on the Senate floor.
The final bill text, totaling 2,702 pages, includes significant new funding for the nation’s infrastructure, as well as priorities like the Senate’s five-year surface transportation reauthorization, language to address climate change, the codification of parts of a Trump-era policy on environmental reviews, the creation of programs that address resilience, and appropriate $445.9 billion in emergency funds. The bill is being considered as a substitute amendment to the House-passed surface transportation bill (H.R. 3684) and is open to further amendments from Senators. However, few amendments are expected to be added to the heavily negotiated package.
The bipartisan IIJA totals $1.2 trillion and represents $550 billion in new infrastructure spending over the next five years.
| New Proposed Infrastructure Funding | ASCE Report Card Category |
| $110 billion for Roads, Bridges, Major Projects | Bridges, Roads |
| $11 billion for Pipeline Modernization, Trucking Safety, and Traffic Safety | Energy, Roads |
| $39 billion for Public Transit | Transit |
| $66 billion for Passenger and Freight Rail | Rail, Transit |
| $7.5 billion for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure | Roads, Energy |
| $7.5 billion for Low Carbon and Electric Buses and Ferries | Transit, Ports |
| $17 billion for Port Infrastructure | Ports, Inland Waterways |
| $25 billion for Airport Maintenance and Resilience | Aviation |
| $50 billion for Cyber Resiliency, Wildfire Management, Flood Mitigation, Coastal Resilience, Weatherization, and Ecosystem Restoration | Broadband, Dams, Energy, Levees, Stormwater |
| $55 billion for Water Infrastructure | Drinking Water, Stormwater, Wastewater |
| $65 billion to Bridge the Digital Divide | Broadband |
| $21 billion in Environmental Remediation | Hazardous Waste |
| $73 billion for the Nation’s Power Infrastructure | Energy |
ASCE expects the Senate to hold a cloture vote on the bill this Wednesday, teeing up a final vote as early as this Thursday. Please contact your Senator and urge them to vote YES on the final Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
For a full analysis of the IIJA please check out our issue memo.