Senate Approves $550B Infrastructure Bill in Bipartisan Effort

WASHINGTON (Aug. 10, 2021) — The United States Senate has passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in a 69 to 30 vote this week. The bill would provide $550 billion in new infrastructure investments and, according to a White House fact sheet, will supply approximately 2 million jobs per year over the next decade. If passed by the House and signed by President Biden, the bill will be the largest federal investment in public transportation ever, the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system and the largest investment in clean drinking water and waste water infrastructure in American history.

The bill breaks down the spending into several categories with the bulk of spending focusing on transportation. 

Transportation

• Roads, bridges, major projects: $110 billion
• Passenger and freight rail: $66 billion
• Public transit: $39 billion
• Airports: $25 billion
• Port infrastructure: $17 billion
• Transportation safety programs: $11 billion
• Electric vehicles: $7.5 billion
• Zero and low-emission buses and ferries: $7.5 billion
• Revitalization of communities: $1 billion

Other Infrastructure

• Broadband: $65 billion
• Power infrastructure: $73 billion
• Clean drinking water: $55 billion
• Resilience and Western water storage: $50 billion
• Removal of pollution from water and soil: $21 billion

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has released a statement on the bill praising it for efforts to cut down on delays in projects and workforce shortages in the industry. 

“This infrastructure package contains the most significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure in a generation and could yield crucial wins for the American people and construction industry,” said Michael Bellaman, ABC’s president and CEO. “It is promising to see progress made toward modernizing our nation’s roads, bridges, water infrastructure, transit, railways, ports and other critical infrastructure. This bipartisan accomplishment is something that has eluded Congress for decades and is proof of the possibilities when lawmakers choose compromise over conflict.”

Bellaman still expressed some concern about the bill’s contents. 

“However, the bill’s expansion of prevailing wage and support for misleading ‘buy American’ and ‘local hire’ requirements could impact the ultimate success of the legislation,” said Bellaman. “President Biden and his administration must refrain from partisan favoritism in awarding contracts and commit to ensuring all of America’s construction industry can participate in the important work of modernizing the nation’s infrastructure.

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