The Infrastructure Bill: Law Or Limbo?

On November 15, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. The bill, which was passed by Congress, is a once-in-a-generation investment in America's infrastructure and competitiveness.

The bipartisan infrastructure law includes $550 billion in new spending on roads, bridges, public transit, clean energy, electric vehicles, and broadband development. It also includes funding for environmental projects, water storage, and electric vehicle infrastructure.

The law is expected to create 1.5 million jobs per year over the next decade and make significant investments in repairing and reconstructing bridges, modernizing transit, and expanding access to clean drinking water and high-speed internet.

Roads, bridges, and transit safety

On November 15, 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, was signed into law by President Biden. This law includes a once-in-a-generation investment in roads, bridges, and rails, with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users.

In the United States, one in five miles of highways and major roads, and 45,000 bridges, are in poor condition. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law addresses this issue by reauthorizing surface transportation programs for five years and investing $110 billion in additional funding to repair and reconstruct roads and bridges. This includes the largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. The legislation will also support major, transformational projects and includes the first-ever Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which aims to reduce traffic fatalities.

The law also includes funding to rebuild and reinvest in railways, public transit infrastructure, and the safety of the transportation system. This includes a $39 billion investment in public transit, the largest federal investment in history. This funding will expand public transit options, replace deficient transit vehicles with clean, zero-emission vehicles, and improve accessibility for the elderly and people with disabilities.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is expected to have a significant impact on the economy, creating good-paying union jobs and growing the economy sustainably and equitably. It will also address supply chain issues and help ease inflationary pressures.

Trains, buses, and ferries

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. This law is a generational investment in America's intermodal transportation system, including freight and intercity passenger rail. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $102 billion in total rail funding, with $66 billion from advanced appropriations and $36 billion in authorized funding. This funding will be used to improve the safety, reliability, resilience, sustainability, and equity of America's rail network.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also includes funding for buses and ferries. There is $5 billion to help schools buy electric and low-emission buses, and $250 million for a pilot project to purchase ferries powered by electricity or other low-carbon emission fuels. Additionally, the law creates a new program for "essential ferry service" for rural areas, with a focus on serving communities that are at least 50 miles apart.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will have a significant impact on America's transportation system, making it safer, more reliable, and more sustainable. It will also create good-paying jobs and drive economic growth.

Climate change and community

On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) became law. The bipartisan infrastructure law is a once-in-a-generation investment in the nation's infrastructure and competitiveness.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the first infrastructure law in U.S. history that acknowledges and addresses the climate crisis. It advances a wide variety of infrastructure investments that will reduce greenhouse emissions from the transportation network and foster the American manufacturing of green technologies.

The law provides $91.2 billion in mandatory transit funding and supplemental transit appropriations over five years, including $1.1 billion for the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Program and $50 million for the Electric or Low-Emitting Ferry Program in FY 2022. The law also includes the first-ever federal investment in EV charging infrastructure, investing $7.5 billion over five years, including nearly $1 billion in formula funding in FY 2022 for EV charging infrastructure along highways.

The law directs $80 million in FY 2022 exclusively for a new program to reduce emissions from idling trucks at port facilities, in addition to $450 million for the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), which will provide grants to improve port facilities, including projects that will reduce or eliminate toxic air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. The law also supports climate-friendly projects at airports, putting $1 billion in FY 2022 toward a new Airport Terminal Program to support terminal development and other landside projects.

The law includes more than $1.2 billion in FY 2022 for a new formula Carbon Reduction Program specifically to reduce transportation-related emissions. Additionally, the law provides $50 million in FY 2022 for a new Congestion Relief Program to provide competitive grants for projects in large cities that advance innovative and multimodal solutions to relieve traffic congestion. These projects can help reduce highway congestion, lower economic and environmental costs related to congestion, and optimize the capacity of existing highway and transit systems.

The law also funds and expands the existing Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality improvement program, providing $2.5 billion in FY 2022 to support surface transportation projects and other related efforts (like bike-sharing, scooter systems, and medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles) that improve air quality and relieve congestion.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law incorporates resilience considerations into existing transportation programs. This includes improvements to the National Highway Performance Program, Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, and FHWA’s Emergency Relief Program. The law also establishes the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) program, providing $8.7 billion over five years. PROTECT provides $1.4 billion in formula funding to states and $250 million in competitive grants in FY 2022 to eligible entities to increase the resilience of the transportation system. This includes funding for evacuation routes, coastal resilience, making existing infrastructure more resilient, or efforts to move infrastructure to nearby locations not continuously impacted by extreme weather and natural disasters.

The law also provides the first-ever legislative definition of resilience and the first-ever definition of natural infrastructure, providing needed clarity to the transportation community and a statement of its importance as a transportation resilience strategy.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and create good-paying, union jobs.

Electric vehicles and broadband

On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) became law. The bipartisan bill includes funding for electric vehicles (EVs) and broadband.

Electric Vehicles

The IIJA includes \$7.5 billion to build a national network of EV chargers in the United States. This funding will support the President's goal of building 500,000 EV chargers to accelerate the adoption of EVs, reduce emissions, and create good-paying jobs. The funding will be used to deploy EV chargers along highway corridors and within communities to facilitate long-distance travel and provide convenient charging for people's everyday lives.

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, established and funded by the IIJA, has approved more than two-thirds of EV Infrastructure Deployment Plans from states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These approved plans will unlock nearly $1 billion in NEVI formula funding to help build EV chargers across 53,000 miles of highway. The NEVI formula funding under the IIJA makes \$5 billion available over five years to help build a convenient, reliable, and affordable EV charging network across the country.

Broadband

The IIJA includes \$65 billion to ensure that all Americans have access to reliable high-speed internet through a historic investment in broadband infrastructure deployment. The legislation will also help lower prices for internet service and help close the digital divide so that more Americans can afford internet access. About \$48 billion of that funding is being allocated to the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The IIJA gives NTIA responsibility for the following broadband programs:

• $42.45 billion in grants to states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and territories focused on funding high-speed broadband deployment to households and businesses that currently lack access.
• $2 billion for Tribal broadband grants, which is more than double the funding for NTIA's existing Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.
• $2.75 billion to fund Digital Equity, providing funding for three grant programs to promote digital inclusion and equity for communities that lack the skills, technologies, and support needed to take advantage of broadband connections.
• $1 billion for middle-mile connections to build a high-speed backbone for communities, businesses, and anchor institutions.

Water infrastructure

On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was signed into law. The law includes a \$55 billion investment in water infrastructure to expand access to clean drinking water for households, businesses, schools, and childcare centers across the country.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law delivers more than \$50 billion to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve the nation's drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. This is the single largest investment in water that the federal government has ever made.

The law includes:

• \$11.7 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF).
• \$15 billion for the Drinking Water SRF for Lead Service Line Replacement.
• \$4 billion for the Drinking Water SRF for Emerging Contaminants.
• \$5 billion for Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Grants to address emerging contaminants.
• \$11.7 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund SRF.
• \$1 billion for the Clean Water SRF for Emerging Contaminants.
• \$1.7 billion for Geographic Programs.
• \$267 million for the National Estuary Program, Gulf Hypoxia Program, and more.

Frequently asked questions